Three boys die after falling into icy lake, UK police say. ‘Tragedy beyond words’
A community is mourning three boys who “tragically” died after falling into an icy lake in the U.K., police said.
Four boys fell into a lake at Babbs Mill Park in Solihull on the afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 11, West Midlands Police said in a Dec. 12 news release. Emergency personnel initially tried to “punch through the ice” to rescue the boys, police said in a news conference recorded by BBC.
The children were pulled from the water and rushed to a hospital, police said. An 8-year-old, 10-year-old and 11-year-old “could not be revived,” officials said.
A 6-year-old boy “remains in critical condition,” police said.
West Midlands police expressed their “deepest sympathies” to the “families who lost loved ones” in “the tragic circumstances” that took place “so close to Christmas time,” they said in the news conference.
“The boys’ deaths are a tragedy beyond words,” West Midlands Fire Service area commander Richard Stanton said in a news conference recorded by the Independent.
Police have not said how long the boys were under water or what led up to the incident, BBC reported. The boys’ identities have not been released.
Officials received multiple reports with different numbers of people missing, police said at the news conference, per the Independent. Although officers have not received any more reports of missing people, they are continuing to search the lake until they are certain everyone has been found.
Stanton called the incident “a stark reminder to us all of the dangers of open water, especially during the winter months,” per the Independent. “Frozen lakes, ponds, canals and reservoirs can look picturesque but they can be lethal… We would ask parents and carers to remind their children of the dangers of ice and why they must keep off it. Please help us to avoid this from happening again.”
The Solihull community has left tributes of flowers and stuffed animals at the base of a tree near the Babbs Mill Park, BBC and The Independent reported.
Solihull is about 100 miles northwest of London.
This story was originally published December 12, 2022 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Three boys die after falling into icy lake, UK police say. ‘Tragedy beyond words’."
