By Desiree Salas (media@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Sep 04, 2014 05:19 AM EDT

A 5-year-old girl had to be airlifted to a hospital Tuesday after she was found trapped in a washing machine that was running on high speed.

The unnamed child was reportedly "tumbling fast" inside one of Le's Washateria laundry machine for several minutes before someone noticed her at around 6:15 in the evening, USA Today reported.

"Police said a woman had tried to use that same machine moments earlier and told a manager it wasn't working properly. She then got a refund and moved to another machine," the publication said. "It's still unclear how the girl ended up in the washer. Detectives are also still trying to figure out when it began working."

The Independent said that the girl came with a woman and climbed into the machine while her adult companion was not paying attention.

"Unfortunately she spun around in that washing machine for several minutes and apparently it was on high speed," said Vance Mitchell from the Pasadena Police. "She was tumbling pretty fast in there. One person walked by and said they saw something flopping around in there they thought it was just a dress or something because it was moving pretty fast."

An employee at the laundromat shut off the electrical supply after the discovery and was able to take the child out.

The girl, who sustained extensive but not life-threatening injuries, was sent to the hospital as a precautionary measure after she figured in the mishap at the Pasadena, Texas laundromat. Paramedics who arrived first at the scene informed police that they expect the child to survive.

"You've got to watch your kids. That's the bottom line," Mitchell cautioned, as noted by KHOU. "If that was my son or granddaughter, I'd be really upset that I let it happen."

It was not mentioned who was actually watching the girl or where her parents were.

According to The Independent, in 2010, a baby died after being placed inside a washing machine along with a heap of laundry. The child was inside the machine for about 40 minutes.

Similarly, in China, a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old child died last year after they allegedly climbed inside a washing machine and switched it on by accident before closing the door.

Meanwhile, a New Jersey father's prank in 2012 nearly cost him the life of his toddler when the boy got "stuck inside an active washing machine," The Huffington Post said.

A closed circuit camera was able to capture the incident, showing "the father putting the child in the machine - apparently as part of a 'peek-a-boo' game."

"He then shut the door, which locked and started an automatic cycle with the child inside," the news source added. The child was later pulled out safely after the parents got help from the laundromat's employee.

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