President Donald Trump said he would invite a teenage lifeguard and his family to the White House and give him a high civilian honour after footage showed him rescuing a boy from dangerous surf in Santa Cruz, California. The incident drew wide attention because the lifeguard entered powerful waves to reach the struggling child, who was being pulled out to sea.

The rescue took place at Seabright Beach, about 60 miles south of San Francisco, after waves suddenly became far more severe. Video filmed by a witness shows the lifeguard holding the boy while diving through a wave; after other adults were forced back by the surf, a fellow lifeguard helped bring the child ashore. Paramedics assessed the boy before releasing him to his parents, while officials had not publicly identified either child or lifeguard.