Teenage ‘heroes’ rescue girl,10, from fast-flowing river on the Costa Blanca

TWO teenagers have been hailed heroes after rescuing a 10-year-old who was swept away by the current of the Turia river in Valencia.

MODEST Héctor Ballester and Lucía González, both 14, claim they don’t consider themselves to be extra special, but are proud of having helped the young girl in distress as the river passed through Riba-roja on Sunday, August 2.

The brave pair told Las Provincias they became alarmed when they saw family members frantically looking for the young girl who had slipped into the river while playing with her brother.

Without thinking twice, Lucia and Héctor grabbed their floats and jumped into the water.

They said “it was a fight with the current which carried them about two kilometres” and added: “The girl was on a bed of brambles and reeds, above the water, and we told her to not stop screaming as we couldn’t see her properly.”

After several unsuccessful attempts to reach her, Héctor decided to go back to get help while Lucía stayed with the “scared girl”. After a while, the two girls slowly made their way back to safety, where emergency services had arrived and were able to check all three over.

Thankfully, after two hours of anguish for the family, the child was returned to her mother, who “hugged and thanked us”, said Lucia.