UPDATE Thursday, December 27 1pm
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A witness has described the events that unfolded in the lead up to a New Zealand national drowning at MacKenzie Falls on Boxing Day.
Witness Nathan Goodwin said he had been speaking to the man in the hours before the incident.
"My partner and another couple spoke to him prior to all this and he seemed like such a friendly guy," he said.
"I had been right in the water around half an hour before this unfolded."
The Adelaide man said as soon as it became clear the New Zealander was in trouble, onlookers began jumping into the water to try and save him.
"It quickly became apparent that he was in trouble as he was trying to grab onto the ledge," he said.
"Next thing you know, he is gone. A group of around 10 of us had been in the water trying to find him and save him to no avail. Someone gave some goggles to see under the water. One tourist could make potentially make out his body, however, it was too deep."
"He (the tourist) didn't want to give up ... but it was clear if we kept trying to save him we could have been sucked under too and we urged the tourist that we had to stop."
MacKenzie Falls is a popular tourist attraction where swimming is not allowed.
Mr Goodwin criticised the signage surrounding the area.
“We've since learned that four died there in 2004 and then others recently," he said.
"While there is the signage ... it wasn't super clear just how dangerous it was. I think had we known just how bad this place was, we wouldn’t have gone in and risked it."
Earlier Thursday, December 27 6am
A man has drowned in a rock pool in the Grampians National Park, the fourth drowning death in Victoria since Christmas Eve.
Victoria Police released a statement on Thursday morning reporting a 27-year-old New Zealand man fell into a rock pool at MacKenzie Falls in the Grampians National Park at Zumsteins after 5pm on Boxing Day.
He failed to surface, with Police Search recovering his body about 1am on Thursday morning.
“A witness entered the water and attempted to rescue the man however was unable to reach him,” Victoria Police Senior Constable Alistair Parsons said.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
MacKenzie Falls is a popular tourist attraction where swimming is not allowed.
A 28-year-old man drowned at MacKenzie Falls in January 2018, which was inadvertently caught on camera.
Four people also drowned there on Christmas Day 2004.
The reported drowning comes after a diver died in the water while looking for abalone at Cape Schanck on Christmas Day, and a father and son drowned at a beach on Phillip Island on Christmas Eve.
More to come.
- from Anthony Colangelo and Melissa Cunningham at The Age