New Taipei: A French man drowned Monday after being swept away by waves when he and his Taiwanese friend were swimming at the popular Shalun Beach in New Taipei, according to police.

According to Focus Taiwan, the 37-year-old French national and his 19-year-old girlfriend, surnamed Chung, visited Shalun Beach and went swimming at around 4 p.m. Monday, police said. Chung witnessed her boyfriend being engulfed by waves and reported it to police, asking them for help, police said.

The police and the Coast Guard immediately dispatched boats to look for the French man, and after about 40 minutes of searching, he was found in waters about 500 meters from the beach without a heartbeat, the authorities said. He was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead soon afterwards.

The once popular Shalun Beach has a reputation for being dangerous. It was closed in 1990 due to poor management and the hidden rapids in its waters, which led to several drowning accidents. However, beachgoers still frequently visited the beach and played in the water.

In 2012, due to an accident that killed four people, the New Taipei City government announced that Shalun Beach was a prohibited area for water recreation activities, and the official ban on swimming remains in effect to this day.