Two men remain in hospital after a drowning incident that claimed a third man’s life when they were swimming at a beach along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.

One of survivors in his 20s remains in a critical condition in Melbourne’s The Alfred hospital, ABC reports, while the other is in a stable condition at Barwon Health in Geelong.

The men were swimming in the ocean at Marengo near Apollo Bay when they got into trouble on Sunday afternoon, police said.

A woman who was passing by pulled each of the men to shore one by one, as others on the beach tried to resuscitate them.

One man was declared dead at the scene and the other two were flown to hospital.

In a horror weekend for Australian beaches, another man drowned at Cooee Beach in Tasmania’s north-west on Sunday after he and several children were caught in strong currents.

The man died at the scene, while the children were taken to the North West Regional Hospital for observation.

– AAP