Michelle Daw, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

A notorious rocky headland at Browns Beach in Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park has claimed another victim, with the death of a recreational angler at the weekend.

Police recovered the body of Nasir Mohsini, 41, of Salisbury, near Pondalowie Bay at 1.40pm on Sunday, February 2.

Mr Mohsini, a father of two, had been fishing with friends when he fell from a rock into the water at 8pm on Saturday, February 1.

His disappearance prompted an immediate search.

His body was later spotted by crew on a fishing vessel, who alerted authorities.

Police confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances and will prepare a report for the coroner.

Mr Mohsini, who emigrated to Australia from Afghanistan, is the fourth person since 2019 to have died while fishing at Browns Beach.

SA Police, the SAPOL Water Operations Unit, PolAir, National Parks and Wildlife Services rangers, and volunteers from the Warooka State Emergency Service unit and the Port Victoria and Point Turton Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol SA bases joined the rescue effort.

Speaking at Browns Beach on Sunday, Superintendent Mark Syrus from the SAPOL Yorke and Mid North Local Service Area said a full-scale sea, air and land search was conducted on Saturday night and Sunday.

“It is a major operation — we like to tip in as many resources as we can to try and have a positive outcome,” Superintendent Mark Syrus from the SAPOL Yorke and Mid North Local Service Area said.

Supt Syrus said the victim’s companions had attempted to rescue him.

“When he entered the water, he was on his back and the other members were trying to cast lines over him so he could grab hold of the lines,” he said.

“Unfortunately, that was not successful.

“We understand the missing person was a very poor swimmer.”

The family of the victim was at Browns Beach on Sunday as the search took place.

“It’s devastating for the family, (they are from) a very close-knit community,” Supt Syrus said.

“We are working closely with the family to ensure they are supported in this terrible, tragic time.”

More safety measure needed: volunteer

A local emergency services volunteer has called for more safety measures around Browns Beach in Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park.

Warooka SES deputy manager Roger Murdoch was among volunteers who assisted in the search for Nasir Mohsini, who fell into the water while fishing from a large rock at the beach on Saturday night, February 1.

His body was found the next day near Pondalowie Bay.

Mr Murdoch said he said he had volunteered in many search efforts around the national park’s coastline in his 55 years as an SES volunteer.

He said the rock where Mr Mohsini had been fishing was particularly dangerous.

“The rock has a very rounded slope and it’s slippery when you get to a certain point,” he said.

“If you take one step too many, you are gone.

“This coastline is treacherous in places, and you need to know what you are doing.”

Mr Murdoch said the Warooka SES unit had asked local rangers if anchor points could be embedded in the rock, such as those he had seen around a blowhole at Carnarvon, Western Australia, where he visited last year.

“If they can do it over there, why can’t we do it here?” he asked.

Mr Murdoch said fishers could wear safety harnesses attached to the anchor points, which could also be used by fishers and emergency services during rescues.

He said during efforts to recover the body of Ahmad Alfaran, 16, who drowned near the rocks in March 2021, the SES had been asked by police to check around the edges of the rock, as the area could not be accessed by police divers.

One SES volunteer put on a harness attached to a rope that was being secured by three other volunteers on the rock.

“There is no anchor point —there is not even a rock you could anchor to,” Mr Murdoch said.

“An anchor point would enable us to get right to the edge.”

He also called for more signage to warn fishers about the dangers of fishing from the rocks at Browns Beach.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment and Water said anchor points were not being considered.

“Fishing from the rocks in this location, or any other remote location within the park, is actively discouraged due to the safety risk,” he said.

The spokesperson also said there were no immediate plans to increase signage at Browns Beach.

“A thorough risk assessment of the area was undertaken after a previous drowning in 2021, in consultation with SAPOL and Surf Lifesaving SA, which also took into account the Coroner’s report findings.

“Signage and fencing were upgraded as a result of this review and included providing warnings in Arabic and Farsi languages.”

Another volunteer who took part in the weekend rescue effort, who did not wish to be named, said the telephone infrastructure in the national park needed to be improved to cope during emergency situations.

He said service in the park had deteriorated since 3G had been turned off in late October and the number of people in the park using their phones on the weekend made the service even worse, for both Telstra and Optus customers.

“You had to keep moving (to get service) and when more people turned up, even the police lost service,” he said.

The volunteer called for a booster station or a or mobile signal amplifier to be installed in the park.

The DEW spokesperson said it was the responsibility of telecommunications providers to upgrade infrastructure, and the department was not aware of any plans to enhance coverage in the park.

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 4 February 2025.