Imagine similar, but technically different scenarios:
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While swimming he was caught by the torrent. It put him under water, he breathed in some water, got unconscious. Some passers-by pulled him out of water, started CPR, and succeeded in saving his life.
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He had planned to go swimming after work to his usual everyday place in the local river, but as he was busy at work he couldn't manage it. On the very same day the nearby dam failed, causing catastrophic flood on the very place he intended to swim. Thus he has been saved from drowning.
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(added in reaction to @JanusBahsJacquet's comment) While swimming he was caught by the torrent. Fortunately, thanks to his good physical form and a bit of luck, after a long and fierce fight with the elements, he overpowered the vortex and escaped from the water on his own.
Can you distinguish the situations by a single adverb (or a single-word-like phrase)?
He nearly drowned.
He almost drowned.
He was close to drowning.
There is a related question Nearly or Almost, but not helpful for this case.
Best Answer
Interesting question!
Actually, I would interpret your example sentences in almost all contexts as meaning your first scenario. To describe your second scenario, I do not believe we normally describe that someone almost or nearly did something, but rather, we play around with modal verbs:
In some cases, we even use should. Imagine someone trading places with another on a plane, and that plane crashes. Person A, who originally had booked the ticket, finds out that person B, who took his place, miraculously survived. Person A could then state:
If B did die, however, A may feel he unjustly avoided death:
If he feels lucky, rather than responsible for the situation, he could say:
But I do not expect person A to say that he almost or nearly died in the crash if he wasn't on board. Also I came close to dying on that crash could be said by B (who was on the plane - if he survived it), but not by A.