American tourist drowns while swimming with his girlfriend off a dangerous shipwreck at a popular beach

  • American tourist drowned while swimming at Tangalooma Wrecks, Queensland
  • Emergency services had been called to the tourist hotspot on Friday morning
  • The shipwrecks are a popular site for outdoors activities like swimming
  • Snorkelling tours are provided as a safer option to explore the many shipwrecks 

An American tourist has drowned while swimming off a shipwreck at a popular beach.

The man had been swimming with his girlfriend before getting into trouble at the Tangalooma Wrecks off Moreton Island in Queensland on Friday morning.

The man was pulled unconscious from the water but could not be revived. 

Queensland Police told Daily Mail Australia he suffered from a medical condition and was taken to hospital before he passed away.

An American tourist has drowned while swimming at a popular tourist hotspot in Queensland

An American tourist has drowned while swimming at a popular tourist hotspot in Queensland

The Tangalooma Wrecks are situated north of the Tangalooma Island Resort.

The Queensland Government deliberately sank the 15 ships to create a safe anchorage spot for recreational boat owners between 1963 and 1984.

Fast forward to today and the site has become overgrown with coral and is now a safe haven for more than 100 species of fish.

The sunken ships are a hotspot for tourists and the perfect fix for outdoors activities like swimming and kayaking. 

Snorkelling tours are provided at the area as a safer option to visiting the site alone.

'The snorkel tours… are a much safer way to experience the wrecks as you are taken to the wrecks via boat - so there is no need to battle the currents and swim there yourself (which can be difficult for even strong swimmers),' the official Tangalooma website states.

The man had been swimming with his girlfriend before trouble struck at the Tangalooma Wrecks off Moreton Island on Friday morning

The man had been swimming with his girlfriend before trouble struck at the Tangalooma Wrecks off Moreton Island on Friday morning

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