A four-year-old girl is recovering in hospital following her escape from serious injury or death after falling from a window of a three-storey apartment complex in Galway city.
A startled resident noticed the child dangling from the window of the flat in the Castlegar area just after 9pm on Thursday.
Before the alarm could be raised, the little girl lost her grip and fell three floors. Luckily, her fall was broken by a medium-sized bush in the garden below.
Her parents were alerted and gardaí and an ambulance crew were on the scene within minutes. The girl was rushed to University College Hospital Galway (UCHG), where she was treated for a broken collar bone.
The child is reported to be recovering well in hospital. Last night her condition was described as stable.
Gardaí and social services are investigating the circumstances of the case, which is standard procedure in any critical incident involving a child.
The apartment is in one of the Maigh Riocaird apartments at Bóthar an Chóiste, a quiet complex on the north side of the city.
Meanwhile, a woman was rescued from the waters of the river Corrib near the Salmon Weir Bridge.
The woman, thought to be in her 20s, fell into the water just after 11pm.
Her friends managed to pull her to the side of the bank before Galway Fire Brigade took over and completed the rescue.
Members of the fire crew administered first aid to the woman, who was immediately taken by ambulance to UCHG.
A spokeswoman for the Health Service Executive West described her condition as stable and said that she was recovering well.