PORTSEA (Victoria): Australian Prime Minis­ter Harold Holt was presumed drowned while skin-diving today [Dec 17], the Australian Broad­casting Commission reported at 1.30 p.m. WPST.

The broadcast — which gave no source for its report — came almost seven hours after the Prime Minister entered the water near his holiday home here on the Mornington Peninsula, south-east of Melbourne.

A vast search by more than 1,000 men, aircraft and ships was called off here tonight for the missing Prime Minister. Navy divers left the scene at about 3 p.m. WPST after they announced that murky conditions made further searching impossible.

Acting Premier John McEwen announced tonight that search operations were suspended until dawn for Premier Holt. Mr McEwen said all Australia extended its sympathy to Mrs Holt and her family while hoping that some miracle would occur during the night.

Although the official search was called off, Army troops continued to scout the rocky foreshores. Their searchlights swept across the black water — described by one skin-diver as “rough as guts”. Many civilian skin-divers, including 22 from one club, searched off other breaches.

The Police spokesman said: “Up to 200 yards out it was impossible to see anything in the welter of the search. Aircraft searched an area six miles long in Bass Strait (the 180-mile wide strip of water dividing Australia’s mainland from Tas­ma­nia). But I regret to say we have no result and I do not hold out much hope for Mr Holt now,” he said.

Mr Holt, 59, entered the water at 8.30 a.m. WPST, about two miles from his home. One of his companions raised the alarm when he failed to surface after a dive.

One report said Mr Holt got into difficulties in choppy seas near some crayfish pots.

Local residents said he might have fallen victim to Victoria’s notorious tidal rip, which had been particularly bad for the past two days. The rip has the strength from 8 to 10 knots. It is at its worst during ebb tide and over the years many swimmers have been trapped in its watery clutch. Ships have also fallen foul of the tide.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2017