Two marine volunteers were among three people killed after a rescue boat capsized while attempting to help a yacht in distress off the east coast of Australia.

Emergency services were called at 6.15pm local time on Monday after a member of the public reported that a yacht was struggling near a breakwater in Ballina, a popular coastal town in northern New South Wales.

Marine Rescue NSW dispatched a team of six volunteers who rushed to help the yacht when their rescue vessel “capsized while crossing the Ballina bar in heavy conditions”, state police said on Tuesday. A Breakwater or breakwall is a wooden or stone wall that extends from the shore into the sea and is built in order to protect a harbour or beach from the force of the waves.

“At this time, three people are confirmed deceased, while four made it to shore,” the police added. The search was called off early on Tuesday after everyone was accounted for.

The rescuers, aged 78 and 62, died, while the body of a third man, aged in his mid-50s, was found on the sand nearby. He was not wearing a life jacket at the time and was yet to be identified, the authorities added.

“It has been a terrible night for Marine Rescue NSW and our focus right now is supporting the families of those affected and our volunteers,” a spokesperson for the volunteer organisation said on Tuesday. The Ballina bar is a notoriously hazardous entrance to the Richmond River in northern New South Wales, Australia.

Superintendent Joe McNulty said the volunteers had set out on a “fit for purpose” Ballina 30 rescue vessel, which was “specifically designed within NSW for our conditions”.

He said the capsized vessel was very well-built and locally procured and that rescuers undertake a lot of training in doing bar crossings.

The crew left the Ballina breakwater in “very severe conditions”, he added. The crew punched “into a 2.5m swell coming in from the east coast,” he said.

Superintendent McNulty said: “It heightened the wave height at the Ballina bar, creating a wave that was difficult to navigate. That vessel capsized, and as a result of that capsize, some of the Marine Rescue crew were trapped in the hull.

“We need to remember and reflect on the heroic actions of this crew overnight.

“These people do a fantastic job – volunteering in the community and putting their life at risk to go and save another vessel that was stricken and in danger,” he said.

The yacht in distress had hit a breakwall and broken apart before sinking, police said.

Authorities said divers may return to the scene on Thursday to recover evidence as police investigate how the yacht came to be so close to the breakwall.

Margie Fitzgerald, a local resident in Ballina, told 9News that the tragedy would be felt across the close-knit town.

“It affects the community when something like that happens, especially when a rescuer is lost and those people risk their lives to go and help other people in difficulty.”

Marine Rescue NSW commissioner Todd Andrews said the deaths were a reminder of the risks faced by volunteers. “These two men were serving their local community and have made the ultimate sacrifice to help others,” he said.

NSW premier Chris Minns paid tribute to the volunteers and thanked them for their service.

“Emergency service workers do an incredible job to keep us safe in difficult circumstances,” he told reporters.

“I want to pay tribute to their heroism, their sense of courage, their public mindedness, and let them know that the people of NSW are in their corner today.”