Police rescue spooked nude sunbathers from Australian forest

SYDNEY (AP) - Police have fined two men who had to be rescued from an Australian forest after they were startled by a deer while nude sunbathing on a beach and became lost.

The men called for help about 6 p.m. Sunday after they became lost in the Royal National Park south of Sydney, a police statement said Monday.

'œUnbelievably, we saw two men sunbaking naked on a beach on the South Coast,'ť Police Commissioner Mick Fuller told reporters. 'œThey were startled by a deer, ran into the national ... park and got lost."

Their rescue involved police aircraft, the State Emergency Service and ambulance officers.

The men, aged 30 and 49, were fined 1,000 Australian dollars ($759) each for breaching a stay-home pandemic order that restricted them to Sydney, police said.

The younger man was found 'œnaked and carrying a backpack'ť while the older man was 'œpartially clothed," the police statement said.

Fuller described the pair as 'œidiots.'ť

'œClearly putting people at risk by leaving home without a proper reason, ... then getting lost in the national park and diverting important resources away from the health operation, I think they should be embarrassed,'ť Fuller said.

The temperature range on Sunday at Otford, the town nearest to where the men were lost, was 3 degrees Celsius (37 degrees Fahrenheit) to 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit).

The pair were among 44 people fined by police on Sunday for breaching a public health order after Sydney began a two-week lockdown on Friday due to a new COVID-19 cluster.