North Carolina dad saves 2-year-old daughter from drowning thanks to CPR on Memorial Day weekend

GASTONIA, N.C. (WTVD) -- A 2-year-old girl is in good health thanks to the quick actions of her family after she stopped breathing while swimming on Memorial Day weekend.

Surveillance footage released by Gastonia Police Department shows the girl's father jumping in the pool and immediately starting CPR on his daughter.

"My 10-year-old daughter is screaming out my youngest daughter's name. Mila! And she just screamed it really loud. I looked and turned around and saw my 2-year-old daughter floating," said Mila's dad.

Her mother watched in horror as her child lay lifeless.

"I felt hopeless. I just felt completely hopeless, like my baby is dead. How am I going to live my life with my baby being gone," said Mila's mother.

Mila's father realized her stomach was filled with air and tried to lift her so he could release that air by compressing her back. When he did so she was able to get his daughter to start breathing again.

She was taken to the hospital, but is now in good health.

According to police, one study showed that 82 out of 90 people who got CPR from a bystander after being removed from the water survived with a 91% survival rate.

Now Mila's parents are stressing the importance of knowing the life-saving technique.