Swimmer Drowns in Huntington Beach

A Huntington Beach man rescued one swimmer caught in rip tides Monday but was unable to save another who drowned, a fire department official said.

Patrick Kneebone was at the beach near Pacific Coast Highway and Newland Street watching the sunset when he reported that two swimmers past the surf line were in obvious trouble and floundering, said Deputy Fire Marshal Bob Culhane of the Huntington Beach Fire Department.

The 911 dispatcher asked Kneebone to wait for lifeguards who were on their way but he headed out into the water, Culhane said.

Kneebone pulled one of the swimmers out of the water. Paramedics who had arrived at the beach treated the victim and transported him to Hoag Hospital
in Newport Beach where he was doing fairly well, Culhane said.

A helicopter crew found the second swimmer in the surf almost two hours later. He could not be resuscitated and was declared dead at the scene. Culhane said both swimmers were in their 20s and were visiting a friend in Huntington Beach.

-City News Service