Two Off-Duty Lifeguards Rescue Man who Cliff-Dove into Rock Pool

Originally posted at 6:53 p.m. March 17, 2014. Edited to fix a typo.

Two bystanders, sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and park rangers worked today to rescue a man who had jumped from a cliff into the “rock pool” at Malibu Creek State Park but didn’t resurface.

And, while they were on scene, they came upon a woman with a broken foot who also needed rescuing.

At around 12:35 p.m., first responders received a call of an injured person at the rock pool. Two bystanders saw a 19-year-old attempt a cliff dive, but were alarmed when he didn’t come back up for air, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department press release.

The bystanders happened to be off-duty lifeguards, officials said.

“The two bystanders then jumped in and pulled the unconscious male from the bottom of the water,” says the press release.

Once out of the water, the man began to breathe, officials said.

Firefighters, park rangers and the Malibu Search and Rescue team worked to place the man in a rescue basket so that he could be airlifted to a local hospital for treatment.

While on scene, another bystander alerted rescuers to a woman with a broken foot about 30 yards away.

“After evacuating the male, Malibu SAR and additional rescue personnel went back to the rock pool area, secured the woman in a rescue basket and brought her to an awaiting ambulance,” according to the news release.

“The rock pool area is the busiest site for rescues for Malibu SAR, and was the site of a large water related rescue of four stranded hikers during the torrential rains in Los Angeles just two weeks ago,” said Capt. David Katz