He had attempted to rescue the drowning man.

他曾试图去救那个溺水的男人。

《牛津词典》

He jumped into the river to save the drowning man.

他跳进河里，去救将要淹死的人。

《新英汉大辞典》

The drowning man shouted for help.

溺水的人狂呼救命。

youdao

And judges picked Mr Hollins from the nominations for rescuing a drowning man and his dog from a fast-flowing river.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Wales | 'First class' awards for posties

George was a drowning man after the game in Norway, going down for the third time after defeats in Skopje and Amsterdam.

BBC: Chick Young's view

"It has been proven in a court of law that the drowning of New Orleans was not a natural disaster, but a preventable man-made travesty, " the attorneys said in a statement.

CNN: Court: Army Corps of Engineers liable for Katrina flooding