CTV News has learned that a two-year-old boy has died after he fell into a septic tank in Priddis, a community southwest of Calgary.
A STARS Air Ambulance crew responded to a residential area in Priddis, near the intersection of Highway 22 and Priddis Valley Road, shortly before 1:00 p.m. and transported the toddler to hospital.
"Turner Valley RCMP responded to a report that a young child, two years old, had fallen into an underground sewage holding tank," said RCMP Corporal Curtis Peters.
"The boy was taken out of the tank and rushed to hospital by STARS but unfortunately, he was pronounced deceased at the hospital."
Police suspect the boy had lifted the tank's lid and accidentally fell inside.
Peters says that life-saving efforts were provided at the scene by bystanders as well as firefighters and personnel with STARS.
Turner Valley RCMP and the Medical Examiner's office will be investgating the death.
"Any time that an unnatural death occurs, such as a death at a residence such as this, we work with the Medical Examiner to determine what happened and the ME will determine the cause and manner of death."
He says that it's too soon to make any determinations yet.
The situation has also been very difficult on first responders, Peters says.
"Any death is hard to deal with. We deal with these unfortunately quite a lot but when there are children involved, it reaches at people's heart strings. My first thought goes to the family and my second thought goes to the first responders who attend."
An autopsy has not been scheduled yet.
