Toddler brought back to life after terrifying river fall

A 22-month-old child named Gardell Martin has cheated death in a remarkable turn of events which doctors have dubbed 'extraordinary'.

The toddler had been playing with two of his brothers in Union Country, Pennsylvania when he fell into a frozen creek in the grounds of his home.

The stream which runs through the Martin family's back garden swept the child away where he was immersed in freezing cold water until he was discovered by a neighbour a quarter of a mile away, having been caught in the branch of a tree.

Emergency services working on the toddler could not detect a pulse, but upon instigating CPR and continously performing it for a whopping 101 minutes, the child, who was suffering from profound hypothermia, was slowly brought back to life.

Dr. Frank Maffei of Geisinger Medical Centre in Danville commented on Gardell's incredible recovery, saying: "It’s not extraordinarily rare that we got the kid back, but what’s even more extraordinary is the rate at which he recovered and the completeness of his recovery."

Gardell's mother, Rose Martin, opened up about the traumatic event, saying: "There’s no doubt in my mind it’s a miracle. God had the right people in the right place at the right time and they all did a wonderful job.”

We're overjoyed to know that little Gardell has made a full recovery.