A 17-year-old boy has died after pulling his seven-year-old sister from the Niagara River.

The Buffalo News reported the girl was struggling in the water off Squaw Island in Buffalo, N.Y., Monday afternoon, when her older brother jumped in and threw her to shore.

A 13-year-old sister then jumped in to help him, but both were overcome by the current.

A fisherman managed to pull the 13-year-old girl from the water, but the boy was found on the river bottom by police divers about 45 minutes later.

He was pronounced dead in hospital.