Shocking moment girl falls into gap between Sydney ferry and wharf
A fun family day out almost turned to disaster when a little girl plunged into the gap between a Sydney ferry and a wharf in just seconds.
The routine ferry stop at Barangaroo instantly turned into a desperate rescue mission when an eight-year-old girl suddenly vanished.
Footage shows passengers disembarking from a ferry which had just docked.
Having already walked off the gangway, the youngster rushed forward to greet a boy coming off the boat when she slipped between the ferry and quay.
Instincts kicked in and quick-thinking relatives and ferry staff rushed to pull her from the water.
After almost 15 frantic seconds, the little girl was luckily rescued. She was shaken, but luckily unhurt.
"We were able to retrieve her quickly, safe, but it could have been much worse," ferry worker Jean-Pierre Lomard told 7 News.
The accident could have been deadly.
With the engine still going - the water between the ferry and the wharf becomes a dangerous whirlpool that has the power to pull a person under the boat and even into the propeller.
"You get sucked - if not through the propeller, at least along the hull and behind the boat," Mr Lomard said.
As shocking as it was, incidents like this aren't rare. Similar mishaps have occurred 13 times in the past 12 months, and it's something Harbour City Ferry staff are trained to respond to.
Martin Kearney, of Harbour City Ferries, said staff safety training paid off, and he praised the quick reaction of employees.
He said the business undertakes regular person-overboard training and recovery of people from the water, as well as other general safety procedures.
“I want to commend and thank those staff for the way in which they performed their duties… The seconds of reaction time you can't train that.
"You put your staff through drills. How they react so quickly, you're very proud of."
Transport minister Andrew Constance said the close call was a timely reminder of the importance of safety around boats.
"I feel really sorry for the mum, because ultimately you know it was an accident but it is a timely reminder across the network. Grab your littlie's hand, make sure you grab it tight.
"The staff were amazing they reacted as quickly as they could. They got their bodies down into the gap and obviously rescued that young girl."
