A 3-year-old boy was flown to a local hospital after he nearly drowned at Fort DeSoto Park this afternoon, officials said.
The child was unconscious and not breathing when he was pulled from the water near a small island by the North Beach around 2:15 p.m., said St. Petersburg Fire Rescue spokesman Lt. Joel Granata.
An off-duty nurse from Marion, Ind. started CPR.
"Immediately the 3-year-old responded by coughing up copious amounts of water," Granata said.
The child's mother told paramedics her son was under water for about a minute.
Granata praised park rangers for helping the fire department get to the remote scene and lifeguards, who already had the child on oxygen by the time paramedics arrived, Granata said.
The boy was flown to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg as a precaution, Granata said.
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