Girl’s near-death experience after freak pool mishap: 'A miracle'
The eight-year-old girl spent 85 seconds underwater unable to free herself.
WARNING - DISTRESSING CONTENT: This is the heart-stopping moment a girl struggles underwater for more than a minute after her hair gets stuck in a hot tub filter system.
CCTV footage of the ordeal shows how the girl desperately trying to free her hair so that she can bring her head above the water's surface to breathe.
The accident happened when eight-year-old Betina was playing with her cousin in the hot tub next to a swimming pool in Jaguaruna, southern Brazil, on March 19.
The images show how none of the adults present seem to notice the girl's plight, and the other girl appears helpless as her cousin thrashes about under the water.
Incredibly, one adult can be seen getting into the hot tub mere feet away from Betina, but it is a while before she seems to notice she is in trouble and intervenes.
The other adults then realise what is going on and jump into the pool one by one. They tug on the girl and finally manage to pull her free.
By that point, Betina had spent one minute and 25 seconds underwater and was unconscious and without vital signs when she was freed.
Her dad and her mother's nephew gave her CPR and, thanks to their actions, the girl revived quickly.
Mother hails daughter's 'miracle' survival
Local media reported that she was not left with any lasting effects from being deprived of air for so long.
"My daughter was pulled unconscious from the whirlpool tub," mum Daniela Garcia told local media.
"Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and mouth-to-mouth breathing were performed, and she was revived. She is okay, thank God.
"It was a miracle, and we don't want any other family to go through the horror we experienced."
- CEN/ Australscope
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