North Wollongong: Terrifying moment giant crashing wave washes a child away

A young girl is lucky to be alive thanks to her dad’s heroic act after a massive wave swept her into rough waters.

Footage of the incident shows the toddler waddling onto the breakwall in North Wollongong with her father, 40, closely behind her about midday on Saturday.

The area was under a barrage of intense waves stirred up by a monster storm that struck much of the East Coast the night prior.

One wave smashed into the breakwall and dropped massive amount of water on the girl, which swept her off her feet before disappearing into the rough white water below.

Despite the little girl being barely visible, the dad frantically lurched over the rails and jumped into the water to help save his daughter.

Onlookers to the dramatic scenes could be heard predicting the pair were ‘going to get bowled over here’ before gasping as the dad jumped into the water.

Four ambulances and a rescue helicopter were sent to the scene while others grabbed nearby life buoys to bring the two to safety.

The dad could be seen desperately holding onto the young girl while fighting to stay afloat in the wild waters.

One witness said the dad was exhausted from the moment he was pulled from the water, adding that there was just ‘seconds’ of leeway to saving them. 

A spokesperson for NSW Ambulance told Daily Mail Australia the pair were treated for ingestion of minor amounts of water and small abrasions.

They were taken to Wollongong Hospital in a stable condition.

Just hours prior to the dramatic incident an Airbnb cabin in Wollongong was swept away by intense rainfall with a young couple still inside.

The pair were able to escape the cabin with just a ‘couple scratches to their legs’ in a scene that neighbours described as straight out of an action movie.

Others said they were surprised they made it out alive after it was forced along a creek before crashing into a nearby bridge.