Girl, 9, sucked into pool filter for three minutes saved as nurse jumps in to cut hair

Valentina Oliveira Mancano jumped into a pool during an event organised by the local church in Doutor Camargo, Brazil, when she was sucked into a filter – and was saved by a nurse.

A nine-year-old girl almost drowned when she was sucked into a swimming pool filter and left submerged for over three minutes – but was rescued when a nurse jumped in and cut her hair to free her.

Valentina Oliveira Mancano had only just jumped into the swimming pool at an event organised by the local church in Doutor Camargo, in the Brazilian state of Parana, on Saturday, when the incident happened. The victim’s family noticed her absence shortly after she jumped into the 1.5-metre (4.9-foot) deep swimming pool and did not return to the surface.

But a quick-thinking nurse – described by the girl’s family as a guardian angel – saved Valentina’s life by jumping into the pool and cutting her hair free so she could be pulled back to the surface. Once the girl was out of the water, the nurse started emergency resuscitation that brought her back to life after having been submerged for around three minutes.

Medics took five minutes to arrive on the scene and Valentina was then rushed in serious condition to the Hospital Metropolitano de Maringa, in the north of the state, where she is now recovering in the intensive care unit. Her dad Josue Pereira Mansano said: “She was strong in surviving. She will overcome this, I know. God gave her a second life.”

Josue said that the nurse who saved his daughter, who is an only child, is “an angel”. He said: “Thank God there was a friend of ours who pulled her out of the water and gave her first aid. She was an angel.” Valentina’s condition is said to be stable.

Drowning causes thousands of deaths every year and while it takes only a few seconds to drown, it can take up to three minutes for a person submerged in water to become unconscious. During this time, their airway may be blocked by fluid in the lungs or mouth, meaning that breaking is difficult or impossible.

The body’s response to drowning begins when the brain is deprived of oxygen – and in turn, the nervous system triggers a series of reactions meant to protect vital organs, especially the heart and lungs, from damage until the victim is taken out of the water and resuscitation efforts begin.