Exchange Student Drowns at Popular Tourist Island in Australia

Rescue teams were unable to resuscitate a Japanese exchange student who drowned Tuesday while taking a tour near Green Island in Australia.

According to Newsport.com, the unidentified 17-year-old boy was pulled from the water by the Queensland Ambulance Services at around 12:30 p.m. local time after he was seen motionless during a snorkeling experience.

The student was part of a group exploring the region with the Great Adventures tour company when he died. Great Adventures parent company, the Quicksilver Group, released a statement confirming it is working with authorities and expressed condolences to the family.

Emergency personnel arrived on the scene and administered CPR to the boy, but he was pronounced dead a short time later. According to news.com.au, a similar incident took place in September when a 56-year-old Indian man was died at a hospital in Cairns after being pulled from the water at Green Island.

As a result of the recent deaths and a total of eight drownings at Green Island in the past decade, Surf Life Saving Queensland identified the popular tourist destination as one of five coastal black spots in Queensland.

“We still see international visitors with varying degrees of swimming ability going out to find isolated areas. Surf life savers can’t have eyes on every single patch of the beach,” Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford told news.com.au. “It’s not like going to the outer reef where they are under the complete supervision and direction of the charter company that takes them there. On Green Island they can basically get off the boat and walk anywhere they want.”

As a result of the recent deaths, officials from Surf Life Saving Queensland have said they will work on a new translation smartphone app on Green Island that should help lifeguards communicate with international visitors in their primary language.