A 23-year-old man who told his friends he could hold his breath underwater for a long period of time drowned while trying to prove it Sunday evening.

The Corpus Christi resident was swimming with a group of friends in the 14300 block of South Padre Island Drive. When he did not come up for air, his friends became worried so they jumped in to retrieve him, police said.

Police and paramedics responded to the scene about 9:45 p.m. The man's girlfriend told police she was a certified lifeguard so she gave him CPR until medics arrived.

The man was taken to Corpus Christi Medical Center-Bay Area Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:08 p.m.