Congo Beach drowning: Missing teenager identified as his heroic last act before he was swept out to sea is revealed – as at least five are feared lost in a spate of festive drownings
The search for a Sydney hero, a teenager who took to the sea on the NSW south coast, resumed on Wednesday as five people are feared drowned over the festive period.
Emergency services were called to Congo Beach, about 10km south of Moruya, after reports a man went missing in the surf at around 3.30pm on Tuesday.
Khattab Abu Haish, 19, had jumped into the water to save a family member struggling in the waves, when he also got caught in a rip and was swept out to sea.
A search was immediately conducted for the man, but he could not be located.
Police have revealed Asalamu Alaykum, 19, (pictured) ran into the waters of Congo Beach on the NSW south coast to save a family member before being taken by a rip and remains missing
The search, which involved a number of rescue services including local police, PolAir, Marine Rescue NSW and the Westpac Rescue helicopter, resumed at 7am on Wednesday.
Congo Beach is notorious among locals as a dangerously isolated beach, with persistent cracks and often a deep channel along the coast.
The teen hero's brother posted a message on social media asking people to pray for him as the search continued.
“My brother Khattab Abu Haish, 19 years old from Sydney, Australia, is missing,” he posed.
'He's missing in the ocean in Congo and got caught in a rip. I just want everyone to make it [prayers] that he is still alive and that his body has been found.'
It follows four other people who are feared to have drowned or gone missing in Australian waters since Christmas Eve.
A 35-year-old man was rescued from the newly opened Penrith Beach at around 6.15pm on Tuesday after he fell into the water while paddle boarding and disappeared.
Emergency services rushed to the beach just after 2pm and a search began involving police, Polair, lifeguards, SES and RFS volunteers.
The man's family and friends waited on the shoreline before his body was found. The artificial beach has now been closed after the incident.
Two others also drowned on the NSW central coast in separate incidents on Christmas Day.
The teenager went missing on Congo Beach (pictured), which is known as a dangerously isolated beach, with persistent cracks and often a deep channel along the coast.
His disappearance brings the total number of deaths in NSW waters since Christmas Eve to at least five during a horror holiday period (stock image)
A man was pulled from the waters of Copacabana Beach, south-east of Gosford, at around 5pm while enjoying a day at the beach with his family.
It is believed he suffered a medical episode while surfing and was pronounced dead at the scene, despite the efforts of surf lifesavers and paramedics.
Just half an hour's drive west of Copacabana, on Umina Beach, a surfer died after being pulled from the water at 11am.
His body was recovered from outside the red and yellow flags on the beach and was also pronounced dead at the scene.
The search also continues in Lennox Head on Wednesday for another man who went missing on Main Beach at around 3.20pm on Christmas Eve.