Child In Hospital After Being Underwater For 10 Minutes At Cherry Creek Reservoir

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – A child nearly drowned in Cherry Creek Reservoir on Sunday. Officials say the child was in the water for 10 minutes and was not conscious and not breathing when they were pulled out. It happened on the east side of the swim beach just before 2:30 p.m.

Rangers the six-year-old girl was in the swim area and her parents had put floaties on her arms. The girl took them off and then her parents lost her for about 10 minutes in the water, rangers say.

Crews say people, including a nurse who was in the area, were performing CPR on the child when they arrived. The child was then taken to Children's Hospital Colorado.

"Any time longer than just a few minutes in the water is definitely going to be very severe for a child or really anyone, because obviously when you get that person out of the water you want to immediately start CPR to try to help that person have any chance of living," said Connor Wist, Public Information Officer for South Metro Fire Rescue. "Luckily there were people on scene that could help with that, but yes, 10 minutes in the water is very concerning."

Officials say the crews were helping the child breathe on the way to the hospital.

It is not clear how the child was doing or the circumstances leading up to the near-drowning.