Three youths have been reunited with their family after being swept away on the Hunter River at Denman today.
The trio had been swimming in the river when they became caught up in swift currents just before midday, prompting a multi-agency rescue operation.
Emergency services immediately located and secured the two boys who had been clinging to a log, but a teenage girl was trapped in the river about 300-metres further downstream with her foot stuck under a submerged log.
Fire & Rescue NSW Captain Amon Burkill said she was pinned underwater and struggling to breathe.
“The teen was in imminent danger of drowning, her face was bobbing in and out of the water.”
An extrication plan was quickly formed and a firefighter entered the river to reach the distressed girl. The firefighter untangled her from the debris and pulled her up as a crew mate fitted a flotation harness. An SES In-water rescue team was then brought in to carry the children to the safety of the riverbank.
Captain Burkill has praised his team for their bravery.
“If not for the quick actions of those firefighters entering the river, I’m in no doubt it would have ended tragically,” he said.
Once the teen was back on dry land paramedics assessed and treated her for hypothermia, before taking her to Muswellbrook Hospital for observation.
NSW Ambulance Inspector Mark Gardiner said everyone was relieved at the outcome.
“We’re thankful that we could reunite this family and that no one was seriously injured.”