2 Men Rescue Drowning Teen They Thought Was Dead

— -- A teenager who got caught up in a dangerous surf Sunday off the coast of California was rescued by two strangers and it was all caught on tape.

Rob McNulty, his children and his two friends, Hillary Swanson and Gary Golding, were enjoying a day at Abalone Cove in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, when they saw a teenage boy caught in a violent rip current.

Golding, 46, tried to grab the boy but was swept out to sea himself.

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"At the point I really realized how helpless I was, and I was basically fighting for my life," Golding told KABC-TV in Los Angeles.With Swanson recording the terrifying moment on her video camera, McNulty saw a lull in the current and took it as an opportunity to jump in the water.

"I thought, 'This is his only chance.' The next thing I knew my feet left the rocks and in I went, and I grabbed him," McNulty told KABC.

McNulty was able to grab the teen, who was not identified, and pull him onto nearby rocks, where he was joined by Golding. McNulty then gave the unconscious teen CPR, which he remembered from CPR training 20 years ago.

"I thought he was dead at that point," McNulty said.

"Rob had said to me, 'I think he's dead.' And I was like, 'No, no, we're not going to give up on this kid,'" Golding said.

Lifeguards soon arrived at the scene and the teen began breathing. He was airlifted to a local hospital, where he is now recovering, according to KABC.

McNulty, who suffered cuts to his legs during the rescue, says the teenager’s doctor told him his actions saved the teen’s life.

"He said that if I hadn't gotten to him within a minute more, he would have been dead," McNulty said.