MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A 5-year-old girl from Anoka County is critically injured after placing a zip tie around her neck and accidentally choking herself.

Sheriff's officials say Anisa Moktar found the round cable tie in the laundry room at her Coon Rapids Tuesday night, put it around her neck and pulled it tight. Anoka County sheriff's spokesman Paul Sommer says the girl panicked and found her parents. They tried cutting it off, but were unsuccessful and called 911.

Paramedics removed the tie, but by that time the girl had stopped breathing. She was rushed to Children's Hospital in Minneapolis. The girl's mother says her daughter is in critical condition.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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