Emergency services rescued a young couple who were trapped in a notorious ocean cave at Catherine Hill Bay overnight.
The pair, aged in their 20s, spent almost 13 hours in the cave after rising sea waters trapped them during a walk at 2pm.
Police located them at 11:30pm and a large scale rescue operation was launched.
Fire and Rescue crews found a rocky path into the cliff above the trapped couple and worked through the dark and cold to establish a rope system.
A fire-fighter abseiled down a 20 metre drop off ledge into crashing waves to make his way inside the cave.
One at a time, emergency crews pulled the fire-fighter and casualties to the top of the cliff.
They were assessed, given warm blankets and walked to waiting ambulances.
Paramedics treated them on scene for minor cuts and scratches.
Reporter Lauren Kempe will have the full story in the news tonight.
A young couple is lucky to be alive, after they became stuck in a Lake Macquarie sea cave yesterday afternoon. It took emergency crews more than four hours to perform the dangerous cliff rescue in the middle of the night. More tonight. @nbnnews pic.twitter.com/ZE9IDHLUoG
— Lauren Kempe (@laurenkempe) May 26, 2021
