VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A 21-year-old man made an astonishing recovery after a near drowning at a Florida beach left him without a heartbeat for several minutes last month.

Several people were rescued from rip currents at New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County on March 30; however, Felipe Ribeiro Desouza, 21, was the only one who was unresponsive.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said a rip current had pulled him about 100 yards out into the ocean. Immediately after two boogie boarders pulled him from the water, lifeguard Dalton Smith and Deputy Stan Manhart gave Desouza CPR.

Desouza was eventually handed off to the New Smyrna Fire Department, who attempted to get the 21-year-old’s pulse back.

“With the patient being slippery, the board being wet, they were able to maintain the patient on the board and doing very effective CPR,” Ty Tarnow with the New Smyrna Fire Department said. “It was just a miracle that this young man was able to pull through.”

Fire rescue said Desouza didn’t have a pulse for somewhere between five to seven minutes.

According to NBC affiliate WESH, when Deputy Manhart visited Desouza at the hospital, he told him he was never going to the beach again.

“The first thing he said is he’s never going to the beach again,” the deputy said.

The 21-year-old made a full recovery with no ill effects, WESH reported.