A father of two has drowned after saving his teenage son from a powerful rip at an unpatrolled beach on the mid north coast of New South Wales.

The pair was swimming 50m from the shore at Boomerang Beach, south of Forster, as part of a family holiday.

The 53-year-old Newcastle man rescued his 13-year-old son from the rip before drowning at about 3pm on Tuesday, Manning Great Lakes Police Chief Inspector John Sullivan said.

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“The man rescued his son and then got into trouble himself,” he said.

“Despite the efforts of surf lifesavers and emergency services, the man was unable to be revived.

“These are tragic circumstances.”

Members of the public, including an ex-lifeguard, pulled the man from the water and tried to revive him, Surf Life Saving NSW said in a statement.

“Within minutes, lifeguards from the Australian Lifeguard Service who were on patrol at nearby Elizabeth Beach to the north were on scene, along with ambulance and police,” the statement said.

“CPR was continued for around 30 minutes, however the combined efforts couldn’t revive the man.

“Deceptively powerful surf conditions were forecast for Boomerang Beach at the time.”

Chief Insp Sullivan said there had been “some swell and wind shock” in the area at the time.

The news comes two weeks after another man disappeared in the same stretch of water. Despite an extensive water and land search, he remains missing.

Reminder to always swim between the flags

Chief Insp Sullivan said Boomerang Beach was not a patrolled beach.

“The message police would like to send out over the school holidays is: if you are swimming at a beach, use the patrolled areas and swim between the flags,” he said.

NSW Life Saving manager Andy Kent said the incident highlighted how important it was for beachgoers to swim between the red and yellow flags.

He said that since January there had been 28 coastal drownings in NSW — a significant spike and a worrying sign for lifesavers.

“It’s very sad to see another drowning occur on the NSW coastline, and again at an unpatrolled beach,” Mr Kent said.

“Many beaches are patrolled throughout the school holidays by professional lifeguards and we implore families and holiday-makers to head to one of these locations.

“In addition, volunteer lifesavers are patrolling on weekends through until Anzac Day.”

Very sad news this afternoon, a male lost his life at Boomerang Beach after rescuing his son. Read more here: https://t.co/YbJ5HkvM2S

— Surf Life Saving NSW (@slsnsw) April 12, 2016