LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, Fla. -- Rip currents nearly claimed two lives on Tuesday after a man tried to rescue a drowning child.

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Ocean rescue workers in South Florida said they've been responding to rip current emergencies all day.

The man, an elderly Canadian tourist, was recovering at Holy Cross Hospital after the rescue attempt.

People who rescued the man said he looked blue when he was pulled out of the water.

Witnesses said the man was trying to rescue a 12-year-old boy who began screaming in the water after becoming caught in a rip current.

"When I went out there, the wave just forced me back," said Kevin Munson, who was rescued from the rip currents. "He went under water for 5 minutes."

By the time the man brought the boy back to shore, the man had passed out facedown in the water.

"The kid made it in," rescuer Dane Ahern said. "The old guy was just looking really tired, got hit by a few large waves."

Ahern said that's when he noticed the man facedown in the water.

"When he finally made it to shore, we thought he was upside down and just floating in relaxing and trying to conserve his energy," he said. "As it turns out, he was facedown. So, me and a couple other guys pulled him in, started doing CPR. We were pumping his chest and trying to keep him going until the paramedics came."

Another Canadian tourist nearly drowned earlier on Monday after becoming caught in rip currents.

"I was trying to get to shore, but the rip current I think just kept me out there and I was stuck in the middle," Canadian tourist Yankkike Lavva said.

Lavva was rescued by Keith Zimmerman, who was visiting from Illinois. Zimmerman's family said he barely knows how to swim.

"I grabbed a boogie board from another couple and their sons, and I swam out to help," Zimmerman said. "Not being a strong swimmer as I should be, but I went out to help. We got out there and we all kind of got together. Another young guy came out, too. We started swimming in, and we were basically fighting that rip tide."

There were no lifeguards on the 2-and-a-half-mile stretch of beach, which is why residents said so many people drown or nearly drown on that particular beach.

It is not mandated by the state for Lauderdale-By-The-Sea to have lifeguards. A commissioner for the city said they're looking into a plan to bring volunteer firefighters in as part-time lifeguards, but full-time lifeguards would cost the city more than $2 million.

There was a rip current warning in effect, but there were no flags in the area to notify swimmers.

The first man's status was not known.