A bodyboarder died today after he got into difficulty off the Derry coast while playing with his three children.
The man's distraught wife raised the alarm after his board was washed onto Benone Beach, Downhill.
A coastguard lifeboat managed to locate him 30 yards from shore around 2pm, an hour after he was reported missing.
The unconscious man, who was in his 40s and from Belfast, was airlifted to Coleraine Hospital by a rescue helicopter from Prestwick, Ayrshire.
But attempts to revive him failed and he was pronounced dead a short time later.
A Belfast coastguard spokesman said: "He was playing in the water with his three children when he got into difficulty. "We don't know exactly what happened." The spokesman said there was heavy surf in the area at the time of the tragedy.
The search also involved Castlerock Rescue Team and two lifeboats from Portrush.
In a separate incident, three Spanish tourists were rescued after their toy inflatable got into trouble half a mile from the shore at Port Stewart, Co Derry. They were spotted by the skipper of a fishing vessel who alerted coastguards.
Portrush lifeboat picked up the tourists who were then taken back to the harbour.
Diana Gadd of Belfast Coastguard said: "The conditions at Port Stewart were challenging for vessels suitable for seagoing, but for a toy inflatable they were dangerous. "Had it not been for the fishing vessel skipper observing this inflatable and calling the coastguard this incident could have had a different outcome."
PA