Home and Away fans had the shock of their lives on Monday when they mistakenly assumed actor Ray Meagher, who plays Alf Stewart, had died.

An online news article about the soap’s cast paying tribute to Meagher on his 77th birthday was interpreted by some as tributes following his death.

Many Aussies jumped to the morbid conclusion after seeing a Facebook link to the article which didn’t specify it was the Summer Bay veteran’s birthday.

They just saw the phrase ‘tributes are flowing’ and assumed Meagher had died.

The outlet’s Facebook post featured a photo of Meagher and his co-star Georgie Parker, who plays Alf’s daughter Roo Stewart.

It was captioned: ‘”The whole cast and crew love you very much”: Tributes are flowing for Home and Away’s most iconic star, Ray Meagher.’

The social media post did not state Meagher had died, and the accompanying article made it clear the tributes were birthday well-wishes.

But several Home and Away fans who didn’t click the link assumed the worst.

‘Omg I thought he died. Wow. Just terrify a nation,’ one commented.

‘Stone the flaming crows. Strewth I thought he had passed,’ another added, referencing one of Alf’s famous catchphrases.

A third wrote: ‘Don’t give the whole of Australia a collective heart attack.’

One Australian news website published an article on Monday night criticising the outlet for its supposedly ‘misleading’ Facebook post.

However, this website routinely uses clickbait for stories about people dying, so perhaps they should take their own advice.

Alf has had several brushes with death during his 33 years on Home and Away, and in 2018 he fell down a sinkhole but miraculously survived.

For what it’s worth, Gold Logie-winner Meagher is perfectly healthy.