A girl has been rescued after her foot became trapped under a log in swift water while swimming in an Upper Hunter river.
NSW Ambulance Inspector Mark Gardiner said he understood three children had been swimming in a river at Denman on Friday morning when they became swept up in some rapid water.
Rescue teams found and secured two of the children on a log in the river.
The third, a 15-year-old girl, was trapped by her foot under a log around 300-metres downstream. Fire and Rescue NSW said she was pinned underwater, struggling to breathe.
A firefighter went into the water to reach the distressed teen, untangled her from the debris and pulled her up as a second rescuer fitted her with a floatation harness.
"The teen was in imminent danger of drowning, her face was bobbing in and out of the water," Fire and Rescue NSW Captain Amon Burkill said.
"If not for the quick actions of those firefighters entering the river, I'm in no doubt it would have ended tragically."
An SES In-water rescue team was then brought in to carry the children to the safety of the riverbank.
The girl was assessed by paramedics and treated for some hypothermia. She was then taken to Muswellbrook District Health Service for observation.
"The children remained calm and were in good spirits throughout the operation," Inspector Gardiner said.
"We're thankful that we could reunite this family and that no one was seriously injured."
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