<p>Pavan Ghanasala and Praveen Srikanth, both in their 30s, sacrificed their lives while they were lifting their wives above the water to help them breathe yesterday.<br /><br />Rangers were in the process of closing access to the sandbar when the two men drowned, according to media reports here.<br /><br />The two died on the shore despite efforts to resuscitate them after they were swept into deep water off the popular island.<br /><br />Ghanasala who was a boilermaker had recently arrived in Australia with his family. His two young sons, aged seven and nine, have still not been told of their father's death.<br /><br />The victims' wives and two other companions, who had attempted the crossing with them, were rescued and taken to hospitals in nearby Rockingham and Fremantle.<br /><br />They had been picnicking on the island with their children and other family members, who had returned to the mainland by ferry and watched the tragedy unfold from the beach.<br /><br />Department of Environment and Conservation rangers were in the process of closing public access to the sandbar when the drownings occurred, DEC district manager Mike Meinema said.<br /><br />They have since closed the sandbar to the public for the rest of the year due to strong afternoon winds forecast for the period.<br /><br />Permanent signs warning people of the danger of making the 750-metre crossing on the sandbar and advising them to take the ferry were in place on both sides, Meinema said, adding "People will often ignore that advice."<br /><br />Meinema said DEC staff were "probably caught off guard" by very high visitor numbers yesterday.<br /><br />The Department would continue to assess the rules for crossing the bar.<br /><br />"Obviously we don't want deaths occurring so we'll look at what we can do," he said.<br /><br />"It's an impossible thing, pretty much, to police. Ultimately it comes down to a decision on the individual's part," he said.<br /><br />Penguin island is a popular diving, snorkelling, swimming and picnicking spot and is known for its colony of Little Penguins.<br /><br />Rockingham Mayor Barry Sammels fears people will continue to cross the Penguin Island sandbar that claimed two lives yesterday, even if it is permanently closed by authorities. <br /><br />Sammels told a local newspaper that unless lifeguards or someone monitored the sandbar permanently, people would continue to cross it.<br /><br />"Unless we have someone standing there and there is a permanent presence to stop people from crossing, we will still have people crossing it," he said.<br /><br />"We are happy to assist where we can with our rangers and we can put signage up but I do not want people crossing it (the sandbar) no matter what the weather is like.<br /><br />"We have the same problem every summer."<br /><br />Sammels said the City of Rockingham would be liaising with the Department of Environment over the next few days to address the problem.<br /><br />"This has been an ongoing issue and one that we have to address," he said.</p>
<p>Pavan Ghanasala and Praveen Srikanth, both in their 30s, sacrificed their lives while they were lifting their wives above the water to help them breathe yesterday.<br /><br />Rangers were in the process of closing access to the sandbar when the two men drowned, according to media reports here.<br /><br />The two died on the shore despite efforts to resuscitate them after they were swept into deep water off the popular island.<br /><br />Ghanasala who was a boilermaker had recently arrived in Australia with his family. His two young sons, aged seven and nine, have still not been told of their father's death.<br /><br />The victims' wives and two other companions, who had attempted the crossing with them, were rescued and taken to hospitals in nearby Rockingham and Fremantle.<br /><br />They had been picnicking on the island with their children and other family members, who had returned to the mainland by ferry and watched the tragedy unfold from the beach.<br /><br />Department of Environment and Conservation rangers were in the process of closing public access to the sandbar when the drownings occurred, DEC district manager Mike Meinema said.<br /><br />They have since closed the sandbar to the public for the rest of the year due to strong afternoon winds forecast for the period.<br /><br />Permanent signs warning people of the danger of making the 750-metre crossing on the sandbar and advising them to take the ferry were in place on both sides, Meinema said, adding "People will often ignore that advice."<br /><br />Meinema said DEC staff were "probably caught off guard" by very high visitor numbers yesterday.<br /><br />The Department would continue to assess the rules for crossing the bar.<br /><br />"Obviously we don't want deaths occurring so we'll look at what we can do," he said.<br /><br />"It's an impossible thing, pretty much, to police. Ultimately it comes down to a decision on the individual's part," he said.<br /><br />Penguin island is a popular diving, snorkelling, swimming and picnicking spot and is known for its colony of Little Penguins.<br /><br />Rockingham Mayor Barry Sammels fears people will continue to cross the Penguin Island sandbar that claimed two lives yesterday, even if it is permanently closed by authorities. <br /><br />Sammels told a local newspaper that unless lifeguards or someone monitored the sandbar permanently, people would continue to cross it.<br /><br />"Unless we have someone standing there and there is a permanent presence to stop people from crossing, we will still have people crossing it," he said.<br /><br />"We are happy to assist where we can with our rangers and we can put signage up but I do not want people crossing it (the sandbar) no matter what the weather is like.<br /><br />"We have the same problem every summer."<br /><br />Sammels said the City of Rockingham would be liaising with the Department of Environment over the next few days to address the problem.<br /><br />"This has been an ongoing issue and one that we have to address," he said.</p>