This footage shows a cop singlehandedly pulling three swimmers from the Atlantic Ocean after they got caught in a rip current, with one of them later passing away in hospital.

The incident took place off the coast of the city of Fort Lauderdale in the south-eastern US state of Florida on the evening of Monday, 7th February.

The footage was shared online by the Fort Lauderdale Police Department (FLPD), which said it was “taken during a water rescue of three swimmers in distress”.

FLPD Officer John Rose took a small boat out to sea at speed to rescue the three men after they were dragged out to sea by the rip current.

He said the lifeguards had just finished for the day, leaving him with little choice but to attempt to rescue the three swimmers himself.

Officer Rose said: “The ocean was very choppy, very rough that day.”

He said it was difficult to keep the boat stable as a result, but he nonetheless managed to get it close to the three people in the water.

He said two of the swimmers were keeping the head of the third swimmer, who appears to be unconscious, above the water.

The unconscious swimmer is taken aboard the boat, where officer Rose attempts to perform resuscitation manoeuvres on him.

Other vessels can be seen in the background as a helicopter can be heard flying overhead.

Shortly afterwards, the three swimmers are all aboard the vessel and they head to shore at speed in a desperate bid to save the unconscious man’s life.

The police boat arrives at the beach, where other people can be seen waiting to take care of the unconscious victim.

The other two swimmers also disembark and the police officer turns his boat around and heads away from the shore.

The footage then cuts to the beach, where lifeguards and police officers can be seen observing the situation.

Two people, who appear to be lifeguards, enter the water and head out towards what appears to be the police officer’s boat a few hundred metres from the shore.

The footage then shows the same scene unfold, but from the angle of the beach, with the police vessel approaching the shore before the unconscious victim is removed and loaded onto the back of a small vehicle while a medic continues resuscitation manoeuvres as it drives away.

All three swimmers were reportedly taken to hospital, but one of them sadly died. None of the swimmers have been named.