A scuba diver was pronounced dead Saturday after being pulled unconscious from the water at a Carpinteria beach, according to the Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Department.

The victim — a man who appeared to be in his 50s — was discovered floating in the water shortly before noon, and was pulled to shore by beachgoers.

Sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and paramedics responded to the beach near the 3300 block of Padaro Lane, but the diver was declared dead at the scene, fire Battalion Chief Mike Gallagher said.

Chase Blossom of Santa Barbara told Noozhawk he was walking along the beach with his girlfriend and two dogs when a pair of women alerted them to something floating in the surf.

One of the women said she had been watching it with binoculars for about 10 minutes, trying to figure out what it was.

Blossom, who had been visiting his grandparents on Padaro Lane, said he and others discerned that it was a diver, and waded into the surf to pull the man to shore.

“He was clearly gone,” said Blossom, adding that the victim’s scuba regulator was still putting out air, although it was not in the man’s mouth.

Blossom said the man had no obvious injuries, and his scuba gear appeared new.

A woman on the beach told Blossom the victim may have been a neighbor, but that could not be immediately confirmed.

The sheriff’s Coroner’s Office was trying to determine the identity of the scuba diver, Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Kelly Hoover said.

— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.