Nguyen Hoang Hieu Dan, 26, was on holiday with his family at the beach, a popular tourist spot on the Indonesian island.

According to eyewitnesses, he was sitting and taking selfies near the water at around 1 p.m. last Sunday when a six-meter wave crashed into the beach and swept him out into the ocean, media reports said.

His family members were safe because they were far away from the water, Voice of Vietnam reported.

Dan made an effort to swim to shore but was dragged away by the relentless tide.

Reka Sanjaya, director of the Nusa Penida Province police, said two foreign tourists at the scene tried to save the Vietnamese man but were prevented by the strong waves, the report said.

Two minutes later Dan’s body washed ashore, and people on the beach tried in vain to resuscitate him with CPR. 

Rescue forces rushed to the scene but there was nothing anyone could do to save him.

It took them around two hours to carry his body up and out of the cove in which Kelingking beach is set, and they sent it to Sanglah General Hospital, the local police said, Indonesian news website Seminyak Times reported.

Earlier Indonesia's Meteorological, Climate and Geophysical Agency had warned of the possibility of high waves along Indonesia’s coasts, including in Bali.

High tides and strong waves have made for dangerous conditions in Bali and several beaches in Indonesia recently.