An 8-year-old girl was taken to the hospital Thursday afternoon after nearly drowning in Bear Pond in Turner.

Local resident Tina Ouellette told the Sun Journal that she was at Bear Pond Beach around 3 p.m. when a girl was in distress while swimming. Ouellette said a young man pulled the girl out of the water and up on to the sandy beach, calling out for help.

The child was apparently unresponsive and several people, "mostly young women in swimsuits," rushed to help and gathered around the girl to try to perform CPR, the paper reported.

A photo of the scene that Ouellette took shows a small group of people kneeling or crouching around the girl,” the Sun Journal reported.

Ouellette said she believes they were able to get a pulse before Turner Rescue arrived around 3 p.m.  EMT’s took over life-saving measures and the unidentified girl was airlifted to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

Turner Rescue Chief Lisa Bennett said the girl is expected to recover. This article will be update as we learn more.