British tourists aged 17 and 46 drown near Great Barrier Reef

An Australian man is also fighting for his life in hospital

A man aged 46 and a boy of 17 have died after drowning while on holiday in Australia, according to reports. The two British tourists were swept out to sea on Sunday while swimming at a beach at a popular tourist town on the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef.

The BBC reported that the pair were in the water at a beach in the town of Seventeen Seventy, which was nor lifeguarded. The town in Queensland is named after the year Captain James Cook arrived in Australia.

A police rescue helicopter pulled them from the sea, but both were declared dead at the scene. An Australian man is also reported to be in a life-threatening condition after being swept out. He was airlifted to hospital with serious head injuries. Police in Australia confirmed the man and boy were from the UK, but have not yet released any further details.

CapRescue, the emergency rescue service that found the three men, shared on social media that "Sunday's mission was a difficult one," adding that the pair had died "despite the best efforts of all involved". Police said the injured Australian man was from the town of Monto, around 100 miles inland from Seventeen Seventy.

Surf Life Saving Queensland's Darren Everard told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC): "We're not sure whether the third person jumped into the water trying to perform a rescue."

There is only one beach patrolled by lifeguards within a 50-kilometre radius of Seventeen Seventy, the BBC reported. Authorities are not treating the deaths as non-suspicious and police will now prepare a report for the coroner.