Drowning averted by passerby, police say

A good Samaritan has been credited with saving a man who nearly drowned in a pond area at a Huntington Beach condominium complex Monday afternoon.

Police officers responded to the Seabridge Condos, 20171 Sealpoint Lane, at about 12:30 p.m. after receiving calls regarding a possible drowning, the Huntington Beach Police Department said in a Facebook post.

The man, 25, told officers he thought he saw a duck in distress and attempted to save it by jumping into the pond, which he said was deeper than it appeared.

The good Samaritan observed the man, who eventually grew tired and began going under the water.

The observer, a 51-year-old former lifeguard, climbed a spiked wrought iron fence and saved him from drowning, the Facebook post said.

“The man who initially went into the pond told officers he believed he would have drowned if it had not been for the good Samaritan who helped him,” police said in the post.

Jennifer Marlatt, public information officer for the Police Department, said officers did not see a duck in the area.

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Twitter: @BrittanyWoolsey