A MAN who plunged into the sea in the middle of the night claims he was nudged to safety by a SEAL.

       Scott Thompson says felt sure he was "going to die" after he fell into the Santa Barbara Channel off the coast of California wearing only shorts and a t-shirt miles from dry land.

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       Swimmer Scott Thompson says he thought he was 'going to die' after falling into the sea Credit: Newsflash 2

       Scott says he was nudged to safety by a seal. Stock picture Credit: Getty

       After landing in the water in the dead of night, Scott's motorboat continued without him as he frantically tried to catch up with the vessel.

       He said: "I thought to myself, great, this is how I'm going to die. Today is the day I'm going to die."

       Scott - who says he is an experienced swimmer and an expert diver - felt panic set in as the cold chilled his body.

       He says he told himself to keep swimming and, thinking of his family, he started moving through the water.

       "I was devastating myself, through my mind, just picturing my girls and my son growing up without me, and my wife, you know, not having a husband to support her," he said.

       "I wasn't thinking about sharks or anything like that, until I hear this splash."

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       Scott quickly realised it was a medium-sized harbour seal and he said it went under the water and nudged him "like a dog comes up and nudges your leg" throughout his five-hour swim to safety.

       He reportedly saw it as a "sign from God" that he could make it.

       "Did it know, like hey, this human is in trouble, hey keep going dude?," he added.

       Scott kept swimming, not towards dry land, but towards an oil rig, which, while far away, was closer to him than the shore.

       He eventually reached the oil platform.

       "It started getting brighter and I'm just like, I'm crying. And I'm like, shouting at the sky," he said.

       Scott was noticed by the crew on the platform and they rescued him from the water. He was then taken by the coastguard to hospital, where he was treated for hypothermia.

       His vessel was retrieved by a tow boat crew, who reportedly could not believe that he had survived the ordeal.

       Channel Watch Marine Paul Amaral said: "Even putting on a wetsuit, being prepared, getting in that water, and swimming to the platform was horrendous.

       "I can't imagine being in the water with shorts and a T-shirt at night. There was no moon, I mean it was pitch black."