GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. -- A 22-month-old child almost drowned when he fell into a pump at Hillview Baptist Church in Goodlettsville on Wednesday.

Related: Slideshow: Toddler Almost Drowns Near Church | Video

Officials said Erik Taylor Jackson was near the play area of the church when he fell head-long into a deactivated sump pump.

The church's pastor pulled the child from the pump -- which held about 3 feet of water -- after a worker noticed that he was gone.

"They saw his feet when they looked down. So, he was head-first," said Metro police spokeswoman Kristin Mumford.

The child had been in the tank for about five minutes, officials said.

"At this time, it really appears to be a tragic accident," said Mumford.

When Jackson was pulled from the pump, he was not breathing, so CPR was administered. He was still not breathing when he was taken to Skyline Medical Center, officials said.

He was later airlifted to Vanderbilt University Children’s Hospital, where he remained in critical condition late Wednesday.

Officials said the child had a light pulse as they transported him to VUMC.

Church officials told police that they weren’t aware that the old pump was even on the property until the incident.

"It’s not an area that the children normally play in," Mumford said.

The church, which is located on Springfield Highway, was a house until it was converted a few years ago. The hole was covered by a green, plastic lid, which wasn’t a typical manhole cover. The area was not fenced off.

"How that lid became ajar, we don’t know. But it would not be difficult for it to be moved," Mumford said.

Jackson was at the church for a mother’s day out day care program that runs on Mondays and Wednesdays. He had been in the day care program for about a year.

Jackson and his family are not members of the church.

Parents were called to the church to pick up their children after the incident. Sixteen children and four adults were at the day care when the incident happened.

The program has been operating since 2006. State law does not require mother's day out child care programs to have licenses.