bathtub
A 5-month-old died after apparently drowning inside an apartment in Jefferson County, Alabama. In this image, a bathtub is seen in a house of El Salvador's former President Elias Antonio Saca seized by the Attorney General's Office in San Salvador, El Salvador, Aug. 10, 2018. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas

A 5-month-old reportedly drowned in a bathtub inside an apartment in Jefferson County, Alabama on Sunday evening.

Officials said Center Point Fire and Rescue officials and Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies responded to a medical emergency call in the 100 block of Hickory Grove Drive near Tarrant at around 8.18 p.m. local time (9.18 p.m. EDT) Sunday night.

Medics reached the scene and found the baby unresponsive. The boy was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Local Daily Al.com reported that a dispatcher was providing CPR instruction while first responders were en route and the paramedics took over and continued to try to revive the baby on the way to the hospital.

Chief Deputy Randy Christian said according to early information from the scene, the child's father placed him in the bathtub and left the room. When he returned, he found the baby unresponsive.

"I can't imagine how hard this is going to be on that child's family. This will be heart-wrenching for all involved. God be with them,” Christian said.

In a similar incident in Chicago in August, a 4-month-old baby drowned in a bathtub after the mother fell asleep while giving the baby a bath.

The mother told police she was giving the baby a bath and when she woke up an hour later, she found the baby drowned in the water, ABC 7 reported. The boy was taken to nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

In another unrelated incident in January, a 14-month-old baby girl died in Florida after her mother put her and another child in a bathtub and walked away.

Deputies arrived at the Fernandina Beach home and started CPR immediately. She was taken to a nearby hospital but she died by then. A 3-year-old girl who was also in the house was handed over to a relative.

“Unfortunately, this tragedy was totally preventable It is a sad reminder that when your child is in -- or near -- the water, you need to keep your eyes on them at all times,” Nassau County Sheriff Blil Leeper said at the time, AJC reported.

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