Man stranded on lake for 12 hours when jet ski broke down on Christmas Day

A man was stranded on a lake in Australia for 12 hours on Christmas Day after his jet ski broke down.

The 28-year-old was found by friends at 6.40am the next morning after spending the night on Lake Hume on the Victorian/New South Wales border.

He was making a 15-minute trip down the lake when the engine stalled at around 6.30pm, the Herald Sun reports.

His friends and family were forced to abandon their Christmas celebrations to search for him.

"He was found so quickly because he did the right thing by staying with his vessel," Sergeant Damian Bould of Victoria Police said.

"He did not have a personal location beacon with him, which we strongly recommend.

"If he had not of stayed with his vessel, and attempted to swim his way back we may not have had this great outcome.

"With the summer season upon us people need to be very aware of water safety."

Despite being cold from the long night on the lake, the man was not injured and paramedics said he was in good spirits.

Last week, an Australian father and his two sons were found alive after going missing for 11 days in the outback.

Steven Van Lonkhuyzen, 37, and his sons Ethan, seven, and Timothy, five, were found by a farmer in Expedition National Park, Queensland.

When the farmer went to look for them after seeing media reports of a missing family, he discovered their car stuck in a bog.

Police said the family became stranded in the national park when their car got bogged and were found "very hungry".

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