SINGAPORE, July 2 — A 23-year-old Singaporean student has gone missing after being swept away by waves off the coast of Western Australia, reported Australia’s ABC News on Tuesday.

Local police named the man as Goh Heng Yi, a master’s student studying economics at the University of Western Australia in Perth, ABC News reported.

Goh had reportedly been standing on rocks at the Injidup Nature Spa, a natural rock pool formation in Western Australia, and had been taking photos with a group of five other international students when a wave knocked him into the ocean on Monday.

A police officer from Western Australia’s Dunsborough Police Station was quoted as saying that Goh had been “swept off by a wave, managed to scramble back on a rock, and then was hit again by another wave and wasn’t seen since”.

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According to ABC News, the search for Goh began on Monday evening, but police and a rescue helicopter were not able to locate him amid hazardous conditions. Local police added that conditions near the location where Goh had been swept away had been so dangerous that the search boat had to stand down.

“We are gravely concerned for his welfare. The conditions out there at the moment, I wouldn’t be overstating it by saying they’re quite treacherous,” the police officer reportedly said.

“We’ve had to stand down the volunteer marine rescue boat because the swell was just too big. It was putting those volunteers at too grave of a risk.”

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When contacted by TODAY, a spokesperson for Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said the ministry is aware of the incident, and is providing and rendering consular assistance to the Singaporean’s family in Singapore.

The ministry is also asking the Australian government to exempt the family “on compassionate grounds” from current border entry restrictions due to Covid-19, so that they can travel to Perth, the spokesperson said.

The MFA spokesperson added that the Singapore High Commission in Canberra is liaising closely with the Australian authorities on the search and rescue efforts, and the ministry will continue to provide support to the family during this period. — TODAY