Search for boy swept out to sea set to enter third day at The Entrance on NSW Central Coast

A fruitless land and sea search has been abandoned for the day after a young boy was swept into the ocean and out to sea during a family fishing trip.

The 11-year-old was walking with his three younger brothers – aged three, seven and nine – and their father, 43, at The Entrance on the NSW Central Coast when disaster struck about 5pm on Sunday.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Family fishing trip to the Entrance takes a tragic turn

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The family were visiting from Sydney and fishing in the area when it’s believed they took a shortcut across a channel between an estuary and the ocean before the boy was swept away while the tide was going out.

“Lots of people try and move across that channel. It is not advised though,” Inspector David Piddington told reporters on Monday.

While two bystanders looked after the other three children, the father tried to reach the boy but was unsuccessful, police said.

Witness Sarah Bailey told 7NEWS she “heard yelling and looked over and saw a man rushing through the water and then noticed a little boy in the waves with his arm up. He was really struggling”.

Another witness Gary Phillis said the boy “was gone in a couple of seconds and the father just was hysterical. It was horrible.”

An extensive land, air and sea search for the boy resumed about 8am, involving local police, surf lifesavers, water police and rescue helicopters. The search area extends about 15km south to Avoca.

Marine Rescue NSW inspector Steve Raymond said volunteers in two vessels resumed conducting parallel line searches under direction from police amid lumpy offshore conditions on Monday.

Divers recovered some of the boy’s belongings including a fishing chair, towel and esky before the search was called off at 4pm.

Crews are set to return at 8am on Tuesday.

Insp Piddington said the boy’s family was distraught. Police liaison officers and extended family members were assisting with support.

“We’ll assist them as much as we can moving forward,” Insp Piddington said.

In a statement to 7NEWS, the boy’s family wanted to “thank the community, locals and residents for all their help and support during this difficult time”.

Resident Ben Campbell told 7NEWS the channel is notoriously dangerous, adding that “it can swoop the legs from underneath you … and take you out hundreds of metres in a matter of seconds.”

Police say English is the family’s second language with questions now being raised about the effectiveness of warning signs.

The Entrance is at the mouth of Tuggerah Lake and is a popular weekend and holiday destination about 100km north of Sydney.