Underwater search for missing tourist continues at Edith Falls, north of Katherine
Northern Territory police said witnesses saw a 57-year-old man struggling in the lower pool of Edith Falls in Nitmiluk National Park while swimming about 3pm on Tuesday, before he slipped below the water.
Underwater and overhead drones, police watercraft and a team of divers have continued to search for the man, who is an interstate tourist.
Senior Sergeant Paul Wood, who is leading the search and rescue, said the man was visiting the national park with his family on a holiday to the territory.
"The family swum approximately 100 metres towards the falls and a 57-year-old male started to struggle," he said.
Senior Sergeant Wood said police were treating the search as a recovery mission, but low visibility paired with underwater rocks and debris had presented challenges.
He said it was "a matter of being patient" as these kind of operations can take some time, and parts of the lower pool were 25 metres deep.
Visitors arriving at the falls are being told by park rangers the pools are shut, but campers are permitted to stay as the search continues.
Chris Anwyl, who is travelling across the NT and WA, was at Edith Falls when police began their operation.
He said his thoughts were with the man's family, describing the suspected drowning as a sobering "reality check" about personal safety.
He had spent most of Tuesday afternoon exploring the pools, not realising anything was wrong until Wednesday morning when he saw the walking paths had been shut.
Mr Anwyl said swimming in the upper pool was beautiful that day "and it wasn't too cold that would cause you to lose your breath", however he noticed water in the lower pool was murky.
"But there was people in the water, we were going to go back for a swim a bit later on but changed our mind," he said.
"I saw a family getting in just after 4pm, and there was a couple of people swimming out further.
The incident comes during the peak of the NT's tourism season.
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