When a toddler slipped into a family pool, only his 7-year-old brother noticed.
Still a child himself, he rushed to help without hesitation.
And the entire story, from the near-tragedy to the heroic rescue, was caught on video for the world to see!
At a private residence in Sao Luis, Maranhao, Brazil, a little boy fell into his family"s swimming pool.
Almost no one heard anything. But one person leapt into action.
His heroic rescuer was not a lifeguard or parent or even an adult. He was a child himself at only 7 years old.
As his aunt explained when she posted the video that you"ll see below, he raced to rescue his toddler brother.
Anyone who grew up as an older sibling will understand how powerful the instinct to protect your younger sibling can be.
In this case, there is no doubt that he saved his brother"s life.
The aunt writes:
"My 7-year-old nephew was drawing and heard the noise in the pool."
As you"ll see in the video, he quickly sprang into action.
"He had the most incredible reaction for a child of 7 years."
And it"s so fortunate that he did.
"Neither I nor my sister heard the noise just the desperate cries of my nephew."
Because this is what had happened to the precious little toddler.
As you will see in the video, it looks like he wanders off in a matter of seconds.
Young children have short attention spans and a lot of energy. A moment taken to look for something in the refrigerator or answer a phone call is all that it takes for a child to vanish.
Most of the time, you"ll just find them playing with a toy or trying to get a coveted snack.
If you have something as potentially dangerous as a pool, however, all that it takes is a few seconds for the child to wander off and a few minutes of not being able to find them for that misstep to be fatal.
As you can see, it appears that the toddler reaches for something but, being a toddler, slips into the pool without making much noise.
Within seconds, his 7-year-old brother is there to save the day.
The brother even makes sure that his little sibling is the first out of the pool.
They then go and tell a bewildered adult what has happened.
It is worth noting that one of the problems in this situation is the diaper.
Children do not psychically know how to swim (let"s not weigh into the water birth debate right now, please), but survival instincts can help some children figure it out really quickly.
That said, diapers can act as flotation devices, preventing a baby or toddler from getting their face above water.
Toddlers who fall into pools with a diaper on are at extreme risk.
The aunt of these two children shared the video as a warning to other parents.
But also because the 7-year-old"s heroics deserve praise.
He did what any older sibling would do in a heartbeat, but he deserves recognition for that.
Take a look at the full video below to see just how quickly things can go wrong.
And also how quickly things can go right.
