Man drowns in Rapid City pond

West Virginia man drowns in the Gulf of Mexico. (MGN)

Authorities say one person is dead after drowning at a Rapid City pond.

The man's body was pulled from the Memorial Park pond Tuesday morning, KOTA reports. He has not yet been identified.

Authorities say the man began swimming in the pond around 3:30 a.m. Witnesses say he was about 30 to 40 feet from shore when he disappeared under the water.

Firefighters first on the scene could not see the victim so divers from the shore, so the Rapid City/Pennington County water rescue team was called in. Two of the divers found the victim, who was pulled from the water unconscious and not breathing.

According to a fire department release, they followed cold water drowning protocol, continuing resuscitation efforts before the victim was taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.