Unconscious surfer pronounced dead

A surfer Newport Beach lifeguards found floating face-down in choppy water Saturday morning has been pronounced dead, law enforcement officials said.

Lifeguards responded to the beach around 15th Street around 10:30 a.m. after a witness reported seeing a surfboard floating in the water, Lifeguard Battalion Chief Mitch White said.

“They spotted a board, and said ‘hey, where’s the surfer,’ so we responded,” White said.

Lifeguards pulled an unconscious man out of the water who appeared to be in his 30s or 40s, Newport Beach Sgt. Steve Burdette said.

“There were not witnesses, so we’re not exactly sure what happened to him,” White said.

The man was transported to Newport Pier, where paramedics were waiting to rush him to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.

The man was pronounced dead at the hospital, Burdette said.

Because the surfer was carrying no identification, investigators from the Orange County coroner’s office were trying to identify the man on Saturday through fingerprinting, Supervising Deputy Coroner Daniel Aikin said.

A week of heavy winter storms has whipped up fairly high surf off Newport Beach this weekend. There were six- to eight-foot waves off 15th Street and about 100 surfers out when lifeguards pulled the man from the water on Saturday, White said.

The National Weather Service has issued a high surf advisory for coastal areas in Orange County until 2 a.m. Monday.