MADRID, Nov 21 (Reuters) - A British father drowned trying in vain to save his 5-year-old son from rough seas near Barcelona on Wednesday, having already rescued his older boy, aged 7.

The boys had probably jumped into the sea or been swept away by large waves on a beach at Tossa del Mar, north of Barcelona, in the morning, a Spanish emergency services spokeswoman said.

The bodies of the boy and the 32-year-old man, who were not named, were found by a coastguard boat about 20 metres (66 feet) from the coast. The older boy, suffering from hypothermia, was taken to a local hospital with his mother, who was suffering from shock.

"The two children were in the water, we don't know if they fell in or jumped in. There are strong currents on the beach and they very quickly dragged them out to sea," the spokeswoman said.

"The father jumped in to save them. He got one out, but could not save the other." (Reporting by Ben Harding; Editing by Elisabeth O'Leary)

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