A 12-year-old Melbourne boy has disappeared while swimming on the South Gippsland coast, sparking a large-scale search.
Danny, whose last name wasn't supplied by police, was swimming at No 4 Beach in Venus Bay, about 120 kilometres south-east of Melbourne, before lunch today.
His family, from Taylors Hill, and members of the public, started searching for him after losing sight of him about 11.30am.
Police said emergency services were called just after 1pm and launched a search involving air wing, water police squad, Coast Guard, State Emergency Service, Life Saving Victoria and other beachgoers.
The search was expected to continue until last night and resume in the morning.
Danny was described as about 170 centimetres tall with a thin build, dark, short hair and dark eyes.
He was wearing a navy blue rash vest and navy blue boardshorts with a white stripe when he disappeared.
Venus Bay's tiny population of 500 can surge into the thousands as anglers, surfers and families arrive for holidays, according to Visit Melbourne.
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