Swimmer, 24, Gets Caught in Rip Current, Drowns

One of two brothers caught in a rip current drowned Wednesday, his body found about 40 yards from shore, fire officials said.

The 24-year-old victim, whose name was not released pending family notification, and his older brother were on the beach near Coronado Street on Balboa Peninsula about 2:30 p.m. when they decided to go for a swim, witnesses said. They both ran in the water and minutes later, one of them was screaming for help, said David Pruchnic, who tried to rescue the men before lifeguards arrived.

“I got out there and saw a person going under the water,” he said. “Then I went under to try to find him but I couldn’t get to him. . . . It was very hard to see because there was a lot of sand stirred up out there.”

The 26-year-old brother yelled for help. When a Newport Beach lifeguard arrived at 2:45 p.m., he was near drowning and his brother was nowhere in sight, Fire Capt. Rick Zaccaro said.

The men’s clothes and wallets were found on the shore.

The surviving brother was taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, where he was in stable condition. Police and fire officials did not release his name.

Divers found the second man almost an hour later under 15 feet of water and about 50 yards from the spot where he disappeared, Zaccaro said. His heart had stopped and paramedics couldn’t revive him.

“It looked like his brother was trying to help him but got weak and couldn’t handle it,” Pruchnic said. “There were some rough waters out there.”