Three boys have died and a fourth is in critical condition after falling through the ice of a frozen lake near Birmingham, UK, on Sunday evening.
Firefighters and paramedics rushed to the scene after eyewitnesses spotted the children plunge into the ice-cold water of Babbs Mill Lake in the borough of Solihull. All four boys had suffered cardiac arrest by the time they were eventually rescued.
Despite being resuscitated by paramedics, three of the children (aged 8, 10, and 11) later died in local hospitals. The fourth boy, 6, remains in critical condition.
"My thoughts are with all the families affected and our incredibly brave emergency service workers who have responded to such a distressing scene," West Midlands mayor Andy Street on Sunday evening. "I know we'll all be praying for the children to pull through."
Deeply concerning incident in Solihull tonight. My thoughts are with all the families affected and our incredibly brave emergency service workers who have responded to such a distressing scene.
I know we'll all be praying for the children to pull through. — Andy Street (@andy4wm) December 11, 2022
Superintendent Richard Harris of the West Midlands Police told the BBC that the police officers who arrived on the scene did their utmost to rescue the children.
"One of my officers was trying to punch through the ice to actually rescue the children themselves," Harris said. He added that the officer ended up being hospitalised with mild hypothermia but is now "absolutely fine".
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There are no further reports of missing people but police will continue to search the lake until it was "100% certain that there is no one else in the water".
England has seen a severe cold snap in recent days, which has paralysed its airports and other transport services.
