Another Australian surfer dies in Indonesia: police

JAKARTA: A second Australian in little more than a week has died during a surf trip to Indonesia's famed Mentawai Islands, police confirmed Thursday.

Adam Albert Dube was found dead on Wednesday morning after vanishing during an ocean swim with friends the night before.

Mentawai police chief Reko Indro Sasongko said the group of 10 arrived at the popular surf spot off the west coast of Sumatra island late Tuesday.

After drinking aboard their boat, they decided around midnight to go for a swim, Sasongko said.

"After an hour they returned to the boat, but only nine showed up. Dube was not there," he told AFP.

A search ensued for the missing Australian but he wasn't found until Wednesday morning. His body was taken immediately to Padang city on Sumatra island, Sasongko said.

His death comes shortly after another Australian, 54-year-old Ronald Stephen Schneider, was killed after being smashed onto rocks in heavy surf at the Mentawais last week.

The world famous reef breaks off the Sumatra coast are a mecca for surfers, especially Australians, seeking its fabled barreling waves.

Sasongko said police had been warning visiting surfers to be extra vigilant during the dry season months, when wave sizes peak and conditions are particularly dangerous.

"Not only are the currents strong and the waves large, but there are many whirlpools that cannot be seen when in the water but are noticeable from above," he said.

"Those are very dangerous."