The child was playing with a 10-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl near his home in the 31000 block of North District Line Road when he fell into the 20-foot-wide Chandler Canal about 4:15 p.m., Benton County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Sabin said.

The older boy jumped into water in an attempt to rescue the boy, but scrambled out when the current became too strong and called for help, Sabin said.

An airplane was used briefly during the search.

The 5-year-old drifted about a quarter mile to the Chandler Dam, where he became stuck underwater by a metal beam, Sabin said.

Deputies Abel Campos and Scott Runge pulled him out at 4:30 p.m. and started CPR before an ambulance crew rushed him to Kadlec Medical Center in Richland, Sabin said. He was pronounced dead at 6:30 p.m.

The boy’s name was not released by authorities.

The Chandler Canal is diverted from the Yakima River at Prosser and runs along the river’s north bank. It is kept full almost year-round and is deep enough to hide vehicles, Sabin said.