This is the heart-stopping moment a desperate mother and brave passers-by jumped into a river to save a helpless child from drowning.
The young girl’s mum leapt into the water after the buggy, with her daughter strapped inside, rolled into the River Exe at Exeter Quay in Devon during a dragon boat racing event.
Quick-thinking passers-by also hurled themselves into the water and the toddler, who is believed to be about a year old, was brought back to the safety of the quayside.
Victor Martinez, 51, said he did not think twice about jumping in to help with the dramatic rescue after he saw the young girl’s arms flailing from the sides of the pushchair.
He dived into the river and swam under the sinking pram to push it and the youngster back up to the surface.
He then helped the youngster’s shocked mother bring the girl, who is understood to have been completely unharmed in the drama, back to the quayside.
Mr Martinez, who lives in London, jumped into the water with teammates Stuart Menzies and Andy Travers - who were in the city to take part in the British Dragon Boat race.
He said: "I was standing on the side with other members of my team - The Raging Dragons - when I heard a deafening scream.
"At first I wondered why the woman was so worried about a pram, but then I saw the baby girl’s arms flailing on both sides of the buggy.
"I didn’t think about it, I just ran and dived straight in the water.
"I think I hit the water at the same time as the buggy.
"I didn’t think twice."
The buggy, with the youngster strapped in, started to sink after it rolled over the edge and dropped around three feet into the water.
Mr Martinez added: "The buggy was sinking quickly and I dived down to get under it to try push it to the surface.
"We managed to get her to the top and I was struggling to keep the buggy at the surface when I saw the girl’s face for the first time - she was screaming and crying but I looked into her eyes which were full of river water and just thought that she wasn’t going to drown today.
"I think seeing her face gave me the extra push and we managed to get the pram to the wall."
Bystanders and the first aid team for the dragon boat race helped look after the child and checked her over for injuries.
Eyewitness Debbie Manning added: "It was incredible to see.
"It was all quite a drama but thankfully everybody seemed to be OK."
The British Dragon Boat Racing Association, which put on the event, praised the actions of the rescuers.
A spokesman said: "Thanks to some quick-thinking by Stuart Menzies, Vic Martinez and Andy Travers of Raging Dragons who jumped in to rescue the child and pram, it had a happy ending with the child seemingly ending up without a scratch, though a little wet."
The youngster later appeared to be seemingly well and was seen laughing but was taken to hospital by her mother for a check-up as a precaution.
CRD: MIRROR.CO.UK
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