A man drowned Saturday afternoon while swimming in the Kings River just south of the Pine Flat bridge, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies said the incident happened around 4 p.m. when a group of friends noticed one of the men was missing and began searching the riverbank.

They encountered fishermen who spotted something floating downstream, which turned out to be the missing man. He had been gone for about 30 minutes before being found.

Deputies and CalFire firefighters removed the man from the river and pronounced him dead at the scene.

The Sheriff’s Office urged the public to wear life jackets, avoid mixing alcohol with swimming, and respect the river’s strong current and cold temperatures.

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