A man has died and his son has been airlifted to hospital after they got into trouble swimming in the sea.
The incident, involving a family on holiday from the Cardiff area of south Wales, happened off Teignmouth, Devon, just after 1600 BST, police said.
Coastguard crews attempted to resuscitate the man after pulling him from the sea, but he died.
The survivor, whose condition was not known, was flown by helicopter to Torbay District Hospital.
The waves were really, really high
Lucy Cooper, eyewitness
The man's wife and two other children were on the beach while the searches were carried out.
The dead man has not yet been named.
A Devon and Cornwall police spokesman said: "This was a very, very tragic accident."
"The current got hold of them and the father got dragged under the water," he added.
Eyewitnesses reported a massive search operation to locate and rescue the pair from the sea.
Lucy Cooper, who was on the beach at the time, said: "I saw a huge helicopter, lifeboats, policemen, lifeguards. The waves were really, really high."
Red flags warning people not to go in the sea had been flying on Teignmouth beach all day.
The death comes amid warnings from RNLI lifeguards to pay close attention to the beach flag warning system, particularly in neighbouring Cornwall where big surf and low spring tides are currently forecast.
The incident, involving a family on holiday from the Cardiff area of south Wales, happened off Teignmouth, Devon, just after 1600 BST, police said.
Coastguard crews attempted to resuscitate the man after pulling him from the sea, but he died.
The survivor, whose condition was not known, was flown by helicopter to Torbay District Hospital.
The waves were really, really high
Lucy Cooper, eyewitness
The man's wife and two other children were on the beach while the searches were carried out.
The dead man has not yet been named.
A Devon and Cornwall police spokesman said: "This was a very, very tragic accident."
"The current got hold of them and the father got dragged under the water," he added.
Eyewitnesses reported a massive search operation to locate and rescue the pair from the sea.
Lucy Cooper, who was on the beach at the time, said: "I saw a huge helicopter, lifeboats, policemen, lifeguards. The waves were really, really high."
Red flags warning people not to go in the sea had been flying on Teignmouth beach all day.
The death comes amid warnings from RNLI lifeguards to pay close attention to the beach flag warning system, particularly in neighbouring Cornwall where big surf and low spring tides are currently forecast.