Velva teens who saved drowning toddler share their story

The quick action of two teenagers from Velva, North Dakota helped save the life of a drowning toddler on Saturday.

13-year-old Sophie Hackman and 14-year-old Lizzy Massine were in Fargo for the state wrestling tournament. They decided to wind down their day at their hotel's pool and that's when tragedy almost struck.

“All of a sudden, I saw a little girl under the water," Hackman said. "She looked way too young to be under there without a life jacket and she was struggling to get air."

That's when Sophie pulled the toddler out of the water.

“She wasn't really breathing well and she was coughing, so I started patting her back and she eventually vomited," Hackman said.

Hackman said even though the toddler was breathing, she was still blue in the face. That's when Massine started looking for help.

“We just started looking for the parents, and we couldn't find any," Massine said. "Then, I found the lifeguard and I told him what happened," Massine said.

Both girls said even though the situation was scary, they are glad they were able to help.

“If you see something's wrong, it's better to do something instead of not doing something because you don't know what could happen if you didn't do something,” Massine said.

Fargo Police said the child's parents took her to the hospital. There's no word on her condition. Circumstances surrounding the incident are still being investigated.