A seven-month-old baby has miraculously survived being thrown off a 118ft bridge by her own mother in north-east Brazil. Carla Regina Mendes, 23, threw baby Thayller over the railings on José Sarney Bridge, in Sao Luis, north east Brazil, on Sunday afternoon in front of shocked passersby.
The child had already sunk deep into the swampy river when two quick-thinking off-duty police officers got to her, just in time before she disappeared underneath the surface.
Baby Thallyer suffered a blow to her head and bruising to her back after landing in a stagnant stretch on the Sao Francisco river.
Ms Mendes, who was arrested at the scene, later told police to be suffering from mental health problems and depression.
She has been sent for psychiatric tests and could face charges of attempted murder depending on the outcome of the evaluations.
Officers Danilo Pestana and Herberth Ribeiro were returning together from football training around 2pm on a motorbike when they noticed a commotion involving a woman on the bridge.
Witnesses shouted that the young mum had just thrown her child over the edge and into the river below.
The officers immediately plunged into the mud, which reached up their waist, to rescue the little girl who had lost most of her clothes and was only wearing in a nappy.