Video footage has captured the moment a five-year-old girl jumped into a swimming pool to rescue her drowning mother.
Tracy Anderwald, 34, had suffered a seizure and blacked out in the pool at her sister’s home in Portland, Texas.
Daughter Allison realised she had not lifted her head out of the water for five minutes, jumped into the water and pulled her mother to the shallow end of the pool where she turned her over so her head was not submerged.
Ms Anderwald’s sister Tedra Hunt said she was walking over to the house when Allison ran to tell her what had happened.
She told ABC News: “The doctors explained to us that had Tracy been underwater any longer, she probably wouldn’t be with us right now.
“It is truly amazing that this little girl, who’s actually also pretty small for her age, was able to save my sister.”
Doctors were initially concerned Ms Anderwald may have suffered neurological damage after being under the water, but she woke up in hospital in Corpus Christi on Saturday, a day after the seizure, and was released on Tuesday.
The two sisters are hoping the video of Allison will help raise awareness of the importance of teaching children how to swim and what to do in an emergency.
Ms Anderwald told ABC News: “Allison’s been swimming since she was two-and-a-half. She’s our little mermaid and my little hero.”
Video: