A hero father kept his 7-year-old son above water at the cost of his own life after their kayak capsized in a lake east of Los Angeles over the weekend, authorities said.

Rescuers found the boy clinging to his dad’s unconscious body on Lake Perris Saturday afternoon after bystanders reported screaming and “persons in distress,” according to the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

Investigators believe the 54-year-old dad, who they have yet to identify, drowned while holding his son above the water.

Rescuers pulled the pair from the lake and gave the father CPR before paramedics transported him to a hospital in the city of Riverside, where he was pronounced dead.

“The 7-year-old was being treated at the hospital for evaluation,” the Parks Department said.

Neither the dad nor

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