A THREE-YEAR-old child has been rescued after accidentally falling into the River Lee in Cork’s city centre.

A passer-by jumped into the water to save the child, and has been hailed as a hero by rescue services.

It is understood the child was holding hands with an adult when they slipped out of their grasp and fell into the river. Gardaí confirmed that the incident occurred today at around 12.30pm.

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The rescuer, who has been named as Maria Daly, is said to be from Cobh.

The woman stayed with the child until emergency services arrived. The child was taken to Cork University Hospital and is said to be unharmed.

Victor Shine, third fire officer at Cork City Fire Brigade, told TheJournal.ie that the child managed to get under the fence and to the water’s edge, and fell in. “It was a pure accident,” he said.

He praised Maria Daly for her bravery and heroism.

The lady saw that was after happening. She took it upon herself to jump approximately five metres into the water. She got hold of the child and kept it afloat. She kept the child alive.

The fire services were there in a matter of minutes to rescue the pair from the water.

Maria Daly and the child were said to have some mild hypothermia after being in the water, but were not badly injured.

“It was great to have a good conclusion in the end, both people from the water were taken out safe and the family were reunited,” said Shine.