Thursday 6 October 2022 01:40 AM Hero dad who drowned at Yallingup beach, Western Australia, trying to save his ... trends now

A 'hero' father who died trying to rescue his teenage sons at a popular Western Australian beach has been identified as an award-winning podiatrist.

Despite having no swimming experience, Ashwin Bhalsod, 55, ran into the waves at Yallingup beach, in the state's southwest, around 5.30pm on Saturday to help his kids, aged 13 and 15. 

Police said Mr Bhalsod, who was visiting the area from Perth, rushed to the aid of his children as he feared they were struggling - when they were actually fine.

Bystanders pulled the father-of-two from the water and attempted to resuscitate him as emergency services raced to the scene, but he could not be saved. 

Now, Mr Bhalsod has been remembered as a hero and doting father who had spent more than 25 years working in the medical industry. 

'He put the safety of his sons before anything else and that was all that mattered to him,' Slavko Mutavdzic, one of the first responders to retrieve Mr Bhalsod from the water, told Daily Mail Australia. 

'He was indeed heroic in his actions given he entered the water in the knowledge that he could not swim.'  

According to online profiles, Mr Bhalsod was a senior podiatrist for Life Care and had been practicing within the industry for more than two decades.

In 1990, he won the Australian Podiatry Association WA Award and Australian Biomechanics Corporation Prize and had experience in 'a number of Perth’s major hospitals, Child Development Centres, Aged Care Facilities, Private Practice and Home Visiting roles'.

'Ashwin aims to establish and maintain a good rapport with his patients and has some that have been with him since he started his career 25 years ago!' the website reads.

In the personal interests section of his online bio,

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