A young surf lifesaving trainee has been rushed to hospital after nearly drowning during a routine exercise on a Gold Coast beach.

The teenage girl was completing her bronze medallion before she hit her head and was left unconscious in the waters of Main Beach on Macarthur Parade about 8.15am today.

“Pretty challenging surf [and] she was dumped by a wave, hit her head and was unconscious,” Surf Lifesaving Queensland duty officer Michael McAteer said.

Other teenage lifesavers quickly swam to her rescue and the girl was pulled from the water.

Senior lifesavers also rushed to her aid and administered 15 minutes of emergency resuscitation until paramedics arrived and rushed her to the Gold Coast University Hospital.

The girl has since made a recovery.

“We just got an update from the guys over there so she’s awake making jokes, she’s doing well,” McAteer said.

The junior team were praised for their quick response.

“You can’t get a perfect rescue but that was pretty close,” McAteer said.

“It’s a tough thing to experience but that group will probably learn a lot from today and with a successful outcome you can’t expect much more from them.”