A man was pulled from the waves after getting into trouble swimming at Horseshoe Beach tonight.

He was rescued by a large group of people who had been playing volleyball at the beach.

One male eyewitness said: “Some guys pulled him out of sea. He looked about 60 yrs old, a black Bermudian, a big lad.

“They were pumping his chest, then he coughed up water. About eight people at least had to carry him off the beach including EMT's and police. I just hope he's made it.”

The drama unfolded around 745pm when players were just finishing the last games of the evening.

The waves were heavy and up to ten feet high but there were still several swimmers braving them.

Another eyewitness said: “People were screaming 'there's a guy drowning'.

“A guy found him at the bottom. Seven of us swam him in yelling for someone to call an ambulance.”

He said a team member who works at the hospital did CPR on the victim who was not breathing and did not have a pulse.

“He pounded his chest, he spat up salt water then police and paramedics came and he was breathing when he left,” said the eyewitness who described the man as being in his mid 40s.