A quick-thinking young girl swimming at a public pool saved the life of a baby that had fallen in, and later downplayed the rescue to reporters.
The girl in question, Aníka Mjöll Júlíusdóttir, was swimming at the Sundmiðstöðin in Reykjanesbær, RÚV reports, when she noticed something floating in the water before her. At first she thought it was a doll, but on closer inspection saw that it was an infant.
Aníka quickly swam to the child, took her to the poolside, and smacked her back several times. It was then that lifeguards intervened. The child quickly recovered, and there was no need to call for an ambulance. It later came to light that the child had arrived at the pool with her father and siblings, wandered out of the changing area, and fallen into the pool.
Ragnar Örn Pétursson, the director of the pool, told reporters that the incident could have been much worse. Immediately after the child was rescued, a meeting was held with all the staff to review proper work procedures.
For her part, Aníka told reporters, “I had to strike [the child] on the back a little, then she began to cough and to cry. I’m going to have a younger sibling soon, so I know exactly what I needed to do. I didn’t think, I just did what I had to do.”
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