A man who drowned at a Sydney beach on Saturday while trying to save two strangers has been identified as the uncle of NRL star Marty Taupau.
Father-of-six Talitiga Taupau is being remembered as a hero after swimming into a rip at Shelly Beach in Cronulla in a bid to save the struggling swimmers, 9 News reported on Sunday evening.
While one swimmer aged in his 20s made it back to the shore, Mr Talitiga and another swimmer were found unconscious and were pulled from the water by lifesavers.
Mr Talitiga could not be saved, while the other man, who was in his 40s, is in a critical condition after being underwater for three minutes and has been taken to St George Hospital for treatment.
