A Columbus, Indiana, police officer was the first on the scene of a water rescue call Saturday and jumped in to swim a woman and child to safety.

First responders were dispatched to Mill Race Park at 1:42 p.m. after a caller reported a woman in the water yelling for help. Officer Andew Plant was the first to arrive, reaching the area two minutes after the call was dispatched.

The Columbus Police Department said the officer was directed to a sandbar where he saw a woman and child holding onto a fallen tree in the river and the woman said she could not hold on much longer.

Plant removed his body armor and duty vest, then swam out to the tree. The officer placed the 8-year-old child on his back and swam the child to safety. Then he returned to the tree to rescue the woman.

According to the police department, two children had been playing on a sandbar in the river and ended up in the water. The mother went into the water to help, but she and one child were swept away and ultimately left clinging to the tree until they were rescued.