Three boys have died after being pulled from a lake at a deer park in Solihull, England, West Midlands Police said.
The boys, aged eight, 10 and 11, were taken to hospital after suffering cardiac arrest after falling through the ice at Babbs Mill Park yesterday.
A fourth child, aged six, remains in critical condition in hospital as officers continue to search the lake to see if anyone else has fallen into the water.
Emergency services were called to Solihull Nature Park at 2.36pm yesterday, with reports from the scene and social media suggesting children had been playing on the ice and falling into the lake.
Local firefighters, police and ambulance chiefs said at a news conference last night that four children with cardiac arrest had been rescued from the water and taken to hospital in critical condition.
Rescue services were informed that up to six people may have been in the water, and specialized rescue teams continued to search the lake throughout the night.
It comes after a weekend of snow and freezing cold, with severe conditions set to persist over the next few days, including temperatures as low as minus 10C.
Richard Stanton, Commander of the West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service, said at the press conference: “When our firefighters arrived, a number of police officers and members of the public were in the water trying to reach and rescue the children. Our crews entered the water, swam to the first child and our specialist-trained firefighters, including technical rescue, rescued three further children,” reports RTE.
He added: “The specialist medical advice we have been given on the scene, given the temperature of the water, given the age of those who entered the water and the amount of time they have been in there, this would no longer be a search and rescue operation,” reports RTE.
Cameron McVittie, a tactical commander with the West Midlands Ambulance Service, said: “After being rescued, the four children were taken to hospital with an advanced care team under blue lights.
“Two were taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital and two to Heartlands in Birmingham. All four children were in critical condition on arrival,” reports RTE.
The press conference learned that one of the police officers suffered from mild hypothermia and was “fully recovering” in hospital.
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