Story By:  Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency:  Newsflash

This is the moment a young man somersaults off a 66-foot cliff into the sea, injures himself in the water and survives the choppy waves by clinging to the rocks.

Yusuf Unsal, 19, and Muhammet Kosar, 20, went to visit Hamsilos Bay in Akliman in the northern Turkish province of Sinop on 8th May.

Yusuf jumped off the 20-metre (66-foot) high cliff first, but ended up swimming in the wrong direction because he was unfamiliar with the bay.

After getting stranded and buffeted by the waves for around half an hour, the young man began to swallow water and clung to the rocks while waiting for his friend to come to his aid.

In the first video, Yusuf is seen somersaulting from the cliff and splashing into the sea below.

The second clip shows the young man clinging to the rocks while the choppy waves crash at his feet.

Paramedics on the scene treated Yusuf’s cuts and bruises, caused by hitting the rocks, and he was taken to the Sinop Ataturk State Hospital for further care before being discharged later the same day.

After his scary ordeal, Yusuf said: “I jumped, but I did not know the area well, and I did not know where to swim. I hit the rocks due to the force of the waves. I was out of breath and started swallowing water.

“Then I swam back to the opposite side. Once I was on the rocks, my friend came to help me. I struggled for about half an hour. My lungs still hurt.”

He added: “The water was cold, no one should go into the sea there.”