Four children, aged 5 and 6, were rescued on Sunday afternoon after falling into a lake in Solihull, a town on the outskirts of Birmingham in the West Midlands.
Children were playing in the ice that had covered the lake at Babbs Mill Park for the past few days when the sudden break occurred. When they were pulled from the water, local police explained, the children were in cardiac arrest and had to receive advanced life support en route to the hospital. All of them have been hospitalized and are in critical condition. Updated For Sky News this Monday morning.
We are currently on the scene of a serious incident at Bob’s Mill Park on Fortbridge Road. #Kingshurst🇧🇷 #Solihull🇧🇷
Many people were rescued from the lake and taken to hospital. They are believed to be in critical condition. pic.twitter.com/lYUB6kZJRK
-West Midlands Police (@WMPpolice) December 11, 2022
The warning was issued at 2:36 p.m., about an hour and twenty minutes before sunset. “Reports on site and videos on social media indicate people were playing on the ice in the lake and fell in,” West Midlands Fire Department explained hours later. “Our specialized water rescue teams arrived and worked diligently to control the scene, carry out rescue operations using specialized equipment and enter the water. The victims received on-site medical assistance from firefighters and paramedics before being rushed to nearby hospitals. Quoted Guardian.
Although authorities are yet to officially confirm the number of casualties, initial reports indicate that there may have been six children who fell into the icy waters of the lake. As of Sunday night, searches continued with inflatable boats and torches, but there was no hope of finding any survivors.
“When firefighters arrived at the scene, they were informed that six people were in the water. “So after we rescued the four children, we continued with the search and rescue operation to make sure there were more people in the water,” Inspector Richard Harris of West Midlands Police told Sky News, adding that hours would pass, later to be admitted, and the temperature, age of the victims and how long they had spent in the water. Considering the time, it was called off as a “search and rescue operation”.
In the early hours of this Monday morning, the British press maintained that the two children were missing.
What happened was a very cold, snowy and snowy weekend across much of the UK, culminating this Monday in a series of school closures due to the bad weather. Richard Stanton, West Midlands fire chief, warned the rest of the country: “Please, both adults and children, stay away from open water. Never walk on ice under any circumstances, no matter how thick or how safe it is.
“Reader. Infuriatingly humble travel enthusiast. Extreme food scholar. Writer. Communicator.”