Incredible pictures have emerged of a baby being rescued from the open ocean after she floated a kilometre out to sea when her parents forgot they left her in the water.

The Turkish Coastguard was called into action today after beachgoers and the child's parents realised in horror that strong winds and ocean currents were swiftly pulling her towards Greece.

Kept alive only because she was sitting inside a child's flotation device, 10-month-old Melda Ilgin was pulled from the ocean when rescuers dived into the water to catch her.

Ten month old Melda Ilgin floats out to sea after being left in the yellow flotation device at the beach

A rescuer pulls her to safety after having dived into the water to stop her travelling towards Greece

Incredibly, she had travelled a kilometre out to sea before rescuers were able to reach her

Here she is seen carried away from the scene by her mother after being saved by the Turkish Coastguard

Melda's mother gives her some water after she was saved from floating out to sea by the Turkish Coastguard

The ordeal began when the Ilgin family took a trip to the beach near the town of Kucukkuyu, in Turkey's south west coast, BGN News reported.

Sitting her in a child's flotation device, they left her in the water while they relaxed.

However, strong northerly winds sent her offshore and sailing quickly south towards the Greek island of Lesbos.

Horrified beachgoers then realised the gravity of the situation and after several attempts to rescue her themselves, called the coastguard.

Travelling almost a kilometre offshore, rescuers dived into the water and pulled her from the sea.

She was soon reunited with her parents, who quickly ushered her from the scene as a gathered crowd looked on in bewilderment.