In a recent situation on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, it was a freak wave which washed off tourists.
Jill Pengelley reporting for AdelaideNow and republished in News,com said that the the shocked survivors, none of whom could swim, were forced to watch helplessly as their friends drowned. (news.com.au)
The day trippers - an Adelaide man, five Melbourne men and one Melbourne woman, all believed to be Indian - had walked on to the rocks at Point Ellen, on the western headland of Vivonne Bay and about 60km from Kingscote, about 4.15pm. They had their backs to the ocean for a photograph. The freak wave swept them off and into the torrid currents.
Well-Being Australia chairman Mark Tronson says that from his own recent recollections, this is only one of innumerable illustrations of tourists losing their lives to Australia's many different dangers.
Even bred and born Australians sometimes get caught, although they are more aware of the calamities that can happen "in an instant".
Recent news -
Drowning in the ocean having been swept out by rips
Drowning in rivers, particularly it seems through cramps and not being accustomed to the dangers of very cold river or dam water under the immediate surface
Crocodile attacks
Shark attacks
Boating accidents on water ways
Surf boating accidents, going through the heads into ocean waters appears to be a real dangers for the unwitting
Outback deaths - lack of water, unprepared for any eventuality
Lost in the snow fields
Swept off head lands or when ocean rock fishing
Car accidents or hijackings
Then there are less occasional tourist deaths accidents. There is an occasional snake or spider bite, the blue ringed octopus and the box jelly fish.
Mark Tronson says it might sound as if Australia is a pretty frightening place, but in nearly all of these instances it was human error, mostly in the form of a lack of "a duty of care" by either the tourist or those around them.
This is not a case of tourists being 'paranoid', rather there are warnings of every sort given to tourists to be cautious of all such tragic possibilities. Moreover, Australia is not alone in this.
The tragedies and heartache for those close to them, and their families overseas, make it all the more traumatic as Australia is a long way away from most countries. It is no easy thing to get one a plane and make a quick trip 'down under'.
It is in such situations that those Australians who are in positions of pastoral care when such tragedies occur, illustrate the love and care from this nation to such loved ones. This is the essence of Christian compassion.