Kalani Tuiono is lucky to be alive.
Heart-stopping video taken from a rescue helicopter shows the moment a California swimmer was plucked from life-threatening river rapids over the weekend.
Kalani Tuiono was swimming Saturday in the Emerald Pools, just south of Lake Spaulding in Nevada County, when he found himself swept away by the powerful current of the South Yuba River.
Watch: Mom's Rescue of Choking 1-Year-Old Daughter Captured on Nanny Cam
Somehow, the 25-year-old managed to make it to a rock just before plunging down a perilous waterfall.
Tuiono told local reporters that he thought he could swim across "what appeared to be a calmer part of the river" when the current proved to be too strong for him.
Lucky for Tuiono, the Truckee Fire Department showed up before it was too late.
"Shortly after arriving at scene and completing a size up, the Truckee Tahoe Regional Rescue Team was requested" and multiple rescue teams were dispatched, according to a statement from the Truckee Fire Protection District.
