A 24-year-old man apparently drowned while swimming in Laguna Beach, officials said Tuesday.
Laguna Beach Public Safety Dispatch received a 911 call at 7:28 p.m. Monday reporting that the victim went under while swimming at Crescent Bay and was missing, according to Kai Bond, marine safety chief of the Laguna Beach Department of Marine Safety.
A witness said the young man started struggling to stay afloat while swimming with a friend, Bond said.
A search was launched by Laguna Beach public safety staff, with assistance from an Orange County Sheriff’s Department helicopter, Newport Beach lifeguards and the U.S. Coast Guard, according to Bond.
“At 8:13 p.m., the swimmer was located by the Marine Safety dive team and transported to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo where he was later pronounced deceased,” Bond said in a news release.
The man’s name was withheld.