The man, 27, from Malaysia was cooling down from the 35-degree heat on Tuesday afternoon when calamity struck at Sandy Beach, a popular swimming area near Nimmo Bridge on the river. 

His friend Norakid Nordin, whose birthday is on Thursday, said his mate had suggested they go to the area to mark the impending milestone.

“My birthday in two days, he wanted to celebrate my birthday early,” Mr Nordin, who speaks broken English, said.

The working holidaymaker had been jumping over rocks in the river and then flipped into the water before disaster hit.

“He just swim a little bit, little bit and then he go down,” Mr Nordin said.

“I tried to get him and I swam and swam but no found him.”

Police search and rescue divers from Melbourne were called to the scene and they retrieved the body at about 8pm after exploring for about 50 minutes.

They arrived at 6.45pm.

Leading Senior-Constable Anthony Short said valiant rescue efforts had been made by strong swimmers who witnessed the drowning.

“It was very traumatic for the young bystanders that were here and for people present who witnessed it and tried to locate the male,” Leading Senior-Constable Short said.

He said the area where the drowning occurred was an old dredging hole with cold water 12 to 15 metres deep.

Leading Senior-Constable Anthony Short said the stretch of river south-west of Myrtleford had variable conditions.

“The river does change its course every year,” he said.

“It’s a timely reminder at the start of summer for people to watch out for waters that they are not familiar with.

“It’s very deep water here, strong currents and obviously he was no match for it.”

The man’s death, which will be investigated by a coroner, follows two near drownings in the region.

Last month, a girl, 18 months, was rescued from a branch of the Ovens River at Harrietville after being underwater for 90 seconds.

In April a Wangaratta woman, 54, was pulled from the river unconscious after following her dog into water at Porepunkah.