A high surf takes its toll on a lifeguard.
Authorities say a lifeguard has drowned while trying to rescue a swimmer off a Southern California beach.
Officials with the Newport Beach Fire Department say 32-year-old Ben Carlson went into the water Sunday afternoon to help a swimmer in trouble.
Fellow lifeguards found Carlson's body around 8 p.m.
He went under water, prompting an intense search.
The swimmer he was saving made it to shore safely.
The National Weather Service had issued a coastal hazard warning of dangerous rip currents and high surf along Southern California beaches.
The weather service says some beaches saw up to 8-feet high surf.