A 3-year-old boy was taken to the hospital after nearly drowning in a dunk tank in Vista on Monday afternoon, officials said.

The incident happened at a church event on Avenue De Benito Juarez around 1:30 p.m.

According to the Vista Fire Department, the child had climbed into the dunk tank while nobody was looking and stayed in there for 2-3 minutes.

The boy's grandmother told NBC 7 the family was lining up to eat when they noticed he was missing and that his father spotted him in the dunk tank.

Bystanders performed CPR on the child before he was taken to Rady Children's Hospital, officials said.

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