*taken from: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/graffitists-drown-in-drain/2008/01/21/1200764081353.html
Afternoon adventure that ended in disaster
Police will close the entrance to a stormwater drain in Sydney's eastern suburbs where two people drowned and a third miraculously escaped after torrential rain flushed him out to sea.
The survivor, a 27-year-old from Pennant Hills, told police the group had entered the drain in Moverly Road, Kingsford, about one kilometre from where they were caught in the torrent.
Inspector Eddie Bosch said the group had been drinking alcohol and spraying graffiti inside the drain last night when they heard the sound of rushing water.
"They spent about half an hour doing the artwork, not that far from the entrance," he said. "Then they've heard a noise and suddenly the water is upon them and they've washed all the way to Lurline Bay."
They smashed into steel bars at the end of the drain but the 27-year-old slipped through. "He's just got a little scratch on his hip," Inspector Bosch said.
Inspector Bosch said police identified the man and woman who died and have notified their families.
"The girl was a 22-year-old from St Peters and the man was 25 from Pennant Hills," Inspector Bosch said.
"We had about 15 to 20 minutes of torrential rain last night - it was incredibly heavy. They probably wouldn't have heard anything until the water came."
A police spokesman said the 27-year-old was very lucky to have suffered only minor injuries when he was washed into the bay.
"Physically he's very good, he hardly got a scratch on him.
"He was able to give police a coherent view of what happened."
It is believed that a Maroubra lifeguard, Paul Moffat, was one of two locals who rescued the 27-year-old by paddling out 50 to 100 metres and carrying him to shore on a surfboard.
Mr Moffat also works as a high-performance surfing coach.
"He managed to wave his arms around and some residents across the other side of the bay have seen him in trouble," Inspector Bosch said.
"They've got on their surfboards and gone across and literally saved his life," Inspector Bosch said.
Rescue crews arrived about 6.30pm, but were unable to save the young man and woman.
A neighbour, Susan Hutchinson, 40, went to see why helicopters were hovering near the cliff and saw a young woman's body being winched out of the water by a rescue helicopter.
"The question is: what are they doing here in the first place?" Ms Hutchinson said.
Inspector Bosch said: "It just shows the dangers of going into these sort of places. Stormwater drains are not anywhere people should go."
Officers later searching the drain found a bag of spray paint cans inside, police said.
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