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An Australian surfer has drowned in Indonesia despite the desperate efforts of his teammates to save him.
Gunther Kitzler, 56, was knocked off his board by a wave that also broke the rope in his leg while surfing with friends on a famous wave in East Java on Monday.
Surf magazine Tracks reported that two of Kitzler’s friends found him unconscious and sinking on the end of his broken leg rope.
Australian surfer Gunther Kitzler, 56, has died in Indonesia
However, when the two men valiantly tried to drag him back to shore, another wave washed over them and they lost sight of Mr. Kitzler.
This led to a search that lasted well into the night, but without success.
“We searched the beach for several hours… but we couldn’t find him again, he had already gone under the water,” said one of the men involved in the search, Seven News reported.
Local media published a photograph of Indonesian police holding Kitzler’s purple surfboard, which showed signs of damage where the leg rope should have been tied.
Mr. Kitzler’s body was found Tuesday morning about 3 kilometers from where he was last seen.
Indonesian police examine a broken board on the beach where Kitzler disappeared under the waves
“Gunther was one of the real good Bondi boys who he grew up with in the ’80s and ’90s,” said 1993 world champion surfer Pauline Menczer in a heartfelt tribute.
“Always friendly, funny and an absolute master of style.”
Kitzler had been living in Bali for the past 25 years, where he was “affectionately referred to as “The Big G” and had earned a reputation “as a friendly, hard-surfing giant.”
Troy Sinclair, a friend and fellow Australian expat living in Indonesia, said Kitzler was “a larger than life figure”.