Boy, 3, Critical After Pool Mishap

A 3-year-old boy was in critical condition late Friday after he nearly drowned when he fell into the swimming pool at his aunt’s house in Chula Vista.

The boy, whose name was being withheld pending notification of next of kin, apparently was underwater for about 5 minutes before his uncle spotted him and pulled him from the pool, police said.

The aunt called police and a dispatcher gave her instructions on cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which she relayed to the uncle, who performed the life-saving technique on the boy until paramedics arrived.

He was rushed to Children’s Hospital by Life Flight helicopter after the 5 p.m. incident. The child was in intensive care, with his breathing assisted by a machine and his temperature at a below-normal reading, a hospital spokesman said.