Praise for 'textbook' rescue of one-year-old

St John Ambulance staff have praised an off-duty policeman and surf lifeguards whose textbook resuscitation saved the life of a two-year-old girl found floating face-down at Gisborne's Wainui Beach.

The girl was found by a passerby in the middle of a lagoon at Okitu Stream about 5.15pm yesterday, St John Ambulance Gisborne area manager Shane Clapperton said.

"She had fallen over in the lagoon and was unable to get her head above the water," he said.

"She took on quite a bit of water before she was picked up and passed on to an off-duty police officer and surf lifeguards.

"She was put on her side and she ended up vomiting. When we got there, she was breathing on her own."

The policeman and surf lifeguards -- who undergo training with St Johns -- did everything correctly, he said.

"There were reports she wasn't breathing when they pulled her out and whether just clearing her airway was enough to get her breathing or not, we'll never know. They did a great job."

Off-duty police officer Jason Hutchings said he thought the girl was dead when she was handed to him.

"I have dealt with a couple of dead bodies and I thought she was gone. She was in a bad way, a very sick little girl," he told the Gisborne Herald.

"The little girl was not breathing and was cold and clammy, her pupils were fixed."

As he put her down to check her breathing, the girl started vomiting and then took some shallow breaths.

Mr Hutchings put her into the recovery position and cleaned out her mouth to keep her airway open.

Wainui Surf Lifesaving Club manager Grant Fussell and lifeguard Justin Martin then arrived with oxygen.

Although the girl got into trouble just after lifeguards normally finished their patrol, lifeguards decided to stay late yesterday because there were many people at the beach.

The incident hit home for Mr Hutchings who himself has a two-year-old child.

"It was pretty brutal. It highlights that you just can't take your eyes off little kids in the water. You can't afford to be more than 2m away from where they are in the water."

The girl was taken to Gisborne Hospital where she was reported to be in a stable condition and expected to be released today.

- NZPA