El Monte

A 2 1/2-year-old El Monte girl was alive but unconscious Wednesday after nearly drowning in her family swimming pool. Dana Marie Torres was floating face down in the backyard pool when found Monday evening by her 10-year-old brother, El Monte police said. She had been trying to retrieve a toy from the pool with a rake. Her brother had been outside with her but went inside the house momentarily, police said.

A neighbor tried cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but the girl did not respond. Paramedics took the girl to Santa Teresita Hospital in Duarte where she was believed dead on arrival, El Monte Fire Capt. John Beran said. Doctors at the hospital said she had not been breathing for more than an hour, but she responded to heart massage and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Beran said the girl has been transferred to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena where she is listed in critical condition.