Montgomery County

Child Pulled From Water After Being Swept Away, Lodged Against Waterfall in Maryland

The incident occurred along the Northwest Branch Trail in Silver Spring, Maryland

Photo NBC Washington.

Crews pulled a young child from the Northwest Branch, a tributary of the Anacostia River, after the child was swept away and got stuck among rocks in a waterfall in Silver Spring, Maryland.

It happened along the Northwest Branch Trail in the 10700 block of Colesville Road shortly before noon Tuesday.

A group of children and adults was walking along the trail when one of the children slipped on rocks and was swept away by the current, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer said. The child was pulled downstream and got stuck in rocks under a waterfall.

The adults called 911, and one stayed with the child to keep his head above the water. The other adult ran up to a nearby parking lot to wait for rescue crews to arrive, and directed them to the scene where the child was trapped in the water.

In a tweet, Piringer said the water was "swift-moving" and shared a video of rescue crews at the scene.

"One of our fire rescue members was able to show up on the scene, jump into the water and create a vacuum, while other fire rescue was deploying a line to rescue the child," Captain Peter Duggan said in a video.

Photo NBC Washington.
Photo NBC Washington.

The crews were able to rescue the child, who was taken to a hospital for treatment. Another child who was injured and an adult were also transported to hospitals.

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