Alberta brothers rescue child trapped in underwater vehicle in B.C.

Two brothers are being hailed as heroes for rescuing a little boy from a submerged vehicle.

The unidentified siblings from Alberta were enjoying their long weekend at Whiteswan Lake in southeast B.C. when an out-of-control vehicle swerved off a nearby forest service road and crashed into the lake.

The driver of the vehicle, a mother of two, escaped the sinking vehicle and swam to shore. So did her 16-year-old daughter. Her 5-year-old son, however, remained trapped in his car seat as the vehicle sunk underwater.

Kimberley RCMP Corporal Chris Newel told the Canadian Press that the brothers, both in their 50s, immediately jumped into the lake and swam to the boy's rescue. After several attempts — Newel said that the child was submerged in two metres of water for between five to 15 minutes — they managed to free the boy and lead him to the surface.

When they pulled the boy to shore, other concerned bystanders performed CPR on him and helped get all three accident victims to the hospital.

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Newel said the outcome of the story would have been tragic had the brothers not jumped into action.

"There was a multitude of things that came together at the right time to have a good ending to this," he said.

The boy, still in the hospital, is reportedly doing very well. His mother and sister suffered no significant injuries.

Newel told the Canadian Press that the RCMP, who are investigating the crash, may never know why the mother lost control of the vehicle.

"It's your typical gravel forestry road," he said. "It's fairly easy to lose control in those types of situations."