Quick-thinking neighbours are being hailed as heroes after they saved a toddler from drowning in a backyard pool in an upscale neighbourhood of Surrey, B.C.
The little girl, Brooklyn, who is two-and-a-half years old, fell into the pool Wednesday around 7 p.m.
Her mother pulled her out after seeing her lying face down in the water.
As the mother called 911, Mario Knezevic rushed outside, grabbed the little girl from the pool and started administering CPR.
Another neighbour -- a doctor -- eventually took over CPR until an air ambulance arrived to take the toddler to BC Children's Hospital.
Police say she is now breathing on her own and her prognosis is very good. They estimate that she was in the water for less than five minutes.
Knezevic, a Burnaby resident, told CTV News that he was visiting his friend, the owner of the home in the 15000-block of Devonshire Drive, when the girl fell in the pool. The mother and her child rent the downstairs suite.
Knezevic said he learned CPR in Croatia 26 years ago, but all his training came back in the heat of the moment.
According to BC Children's Hospital, drowning is the second leading cause of death for children between the ages of one and four. Twenty per cent of near-drowning survivors sustain permanent brain damage.
Every year in B.C., 43 people die from drowning, and 285 more are hospitalized for close calls.
The girl's family was visiting from Kelowna.
