Boy, 3, Drowns in Santa Ana Back-Yard Pool : Tragedy: Mother had been mopping floor when she noticed toddler was missing. His death sparks pool safety warnings with summer a day away.

A 3-year-old boy, out of his mother’s sight for less than five minutes, drowned Monday afternoon in the family swimming pool, police said.

Francisco Ugalde was pulled from the back-yard pool by a 13-year-old relative at 1:53 p.m. The child’s mother, Maria Ugalde, had been mopping the kitchen floor when she noticed that Francisco was missing, family members said.

“She was looking for the baby, and I came to help her and I found him in the pool,” said Tomas Perez, who was visiting the house in the 3600 block of West Washington Street. “I pulled him out and he wasn’t breathing.”

Five police officers arrived at the house within minutes and unsuccessfully tried to revive the child, who was pronounced dead at Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center, Sgt. Brian Collins said.

A few hours later, relatives began arriving at the family’s two-story home with food and words of comfort.

The boy’s 27-year-old father, also named Francisco, described his son as “a wonderful boy.”

“We are very sad,” said the father, who was at work when the accident occurred. “He was our oldest child and we loved him a lot. Wherever I go, he will always be with me.”

The couple has a 5-month-old daughter.

Collins said the swimming pool was surrounded by a four-foot fence, but the latch on a gate leading to the pool was broken.

“Someone had been working on the gate that day, trying to fix it,” Collins said.

Orange County Fire Department spokeswoman Emmy Day said Monday that the child’s death must serve as a warning to all parents and people watching over children, particularly with summer a day away.

“It would be impossible for us to overemphasize the importance of not letting a child out of your sight near a pool, spa or bathtub,” said Day, adding that drownings are the leading cause of death in Orange County of children between the ages of 2 and 5.

Six such deaths were recorded in the county last year, and 17 occurred in 1993. Many more children are involved in near-drowning accidents that can result in permanent and severe disabilities.

County fire officials said drownings of children are particularly frequent in Orange County because it has 91,500 residential pools. That is one swimming pool for every 28 residents, five times the national average, according to Leslie’s Poolmart, an industry supplier.

Day said “layers of protection,” including fencing, door latches and alarms, are needed. Even then, the best prevention is constant attention to the child.

“Any source of water in which a child is left unsupervised has the potential for that child drowning in it,” Day said. “It’s that simple.”