A Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University student drowned off Kings Beach, Port Elizabeth, on Saturday night while two other bathers were rescued.
East Cape Coastal Water Rescue spokesman John Fletcher said: "The Eastern Cape regional life-saving championship competition on Kings Beach had just finished and all the participants were [still] at the clubhouse.
"Two bathers came running to the life-saving club and alerted us that three swimmers were in trouble.
"About 200 life-savers ran down to the beach and they managed to pull two of the men from the water, but the third swimmer was already under water."
The search for the body of the drowned swimmer was still under way yesterday.
