by Zara Mustapha

The dramatic photo shows the moment a terrified mother and some brave passers-by jumped into a river to save a helpless child who was drowning after her pram accidentally fell into the water.

The baby girl, about a year oldwas strapped into the stroller which rolled into the water, her mother immediately leapt into the  River Exe at Exeter Quay in Devon to save her child during a dragon boat racing event.

Quick-thinking passers-by also flung themselves into the water and the toddler was rescued and brought back the safety.

Both mother and child were immediately taken to the hospital after the scary incident for precaution

Daily Mail reports:

Witnesses said the mother and child were sat watching the event on Sunday when the buggy suddenly rolled into the water.

 

Victor Martinez, 51, said he didn’t 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.

 

 

Victor Martinez, 51, said he didn’t think twice about jumping in to help with the dramatic rescue

 

‘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.

 

‘It was getting heavier and heavier, and me and my teammate Stuart Menzies, who jumped in after me, were struggling to push it up.’

 

‘I thought about unstrapping the baby but I just kept thinking we have to get her to the surface quickly.

 

‘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.’

 

Once on the side of the quay, Mr Martinez’s son Victor reached down and helped to pull the buggy and child to the top of the wall.

 

Mr Martinez then swam back over to the mother before helping her out of the water.

 

‘I could still hear the mother screaming, she was in deep shock so I just went over to her and grabbed her face,’ he said.

 

‘She was shaking so much, I looked her in the eyes and told her that her baby needs her now.’

 

Bystanders and the first aid team for the dragon boat race helped look after the child and checked her over for injuries.

 

Jenny Wisson was one of the first on the scene and helped dress the girl in her son’s spare clothes after she was pulled out in the dramatic rescue.

 

Witnesses said the mother and child were sat watching the event when the buggy rolled into the water

 

 

Bystanders and the first aid team for the dragon boat race helped look after the child and checked her over for injuries

 

She said: ‘I heard a bloodcurdling scream at which point I looked over and saw a few people jumping in.

 

‘It wasn’t until I got nearer I realised it was a baby in a pushchair.’

 

Eyewitness Debbie Manning, of the Cambridgeshire Royals Dragon Boat club, 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: ‘There was some serious additional drama when a pram complete with small child strapped in ended up falling into the river at The Quay.

 

‘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.

 

‘There were even a couple of midwives in the Worcester crew who were able to help check everything was okay with the child.

 

‘After some time to recover from the shock of the ordeal, the mother and baby were last seen heading home away from the water.

 

‘Thank you to all those involved in the rescue and preventing a much more serious and easily life-threatening situation.’

 

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.