NEW ORLEANS, LA — City lifeguards, who were celebrating a summer season without a drowning, found a guest dead at the bottom of the pool at the end of their party.

About half the 200 people at the party on Tuesday night were lifeguards, and four of them stayed on duty as the party-goers swam in the Olympic-size pool at the New Orleans Recreation Department Center, director Madlyn Richard said.

At the party's end, lifeguards found a guest at the bottom of the deep end.

The annual party is held at the end of July, when most of the city recreation centers' pools are closed. This year, the lifeguards also were celebrating the first drowning-free swimming season in memory.

At the end of the party, the lifeguards on duty began clearing the pool and discovered the body of a party guest, 31-year-old Jerome Moody, at the bottom of the deep end.