Woman in distress screams ‘Where is he?’ as little boy falls into the gap between cruise ship and Italian port

Chilling footage shows the moment a hysterical woman screams ‘where is he’ after an eight-year-old boy fell overboard, disappearing between a cruise ship and the quay.

The child, believed to be from northern Europe, was on vacation with his parents and sister in Salerno, Italy, when he got into trouble at the city’s port.

He held his father’s hand before walking away and starting to run along the harbor wall, slipping and falling between gaps, according to local media.

The father then dove after his son in a desperate attempt to save him, before both found themselves trapped between the cruise ship and the harbor wall.

Bloodcurdling screams are heard in the video, which reportedly alerted passers-by who rushed to bring the father and son to safety.

Security guards and volunteers managed to pull the boy’s father from the water using a lifebuoy.

The father can be seen stuck just meters deep in the water as worried onlookers gather to try and help him.

In a moment that would be any parent’s worst nightmare, a woman who appears to be the boy’s mother can be heard in the video desperately shouting “where is he.”

She runs frantically along the platform, looking for the boy.

With reports that the boy was struggling to find something to hold on to try to stay above the water, bystanders rushed to fish him out of the water.

Security guards and volunteers threw a rope which the boy then held on to, allowing him to be pulled to safety.

A woman rushes onto the platform, appearing to look for the little boy. She can then be seen rushing in and tending to him after he is safe.

The relieved woman can be seen rushing over and tending to the little boy after he reached land.

Rescuers continued to try to get his father up the steep wall, eventually succeeding with the help of a life preserver.

No one was injured in the incident, but the boy was reportedly shaken, as were his terrified parents.