The nation has been left heartbroken since three young boys died after falling into a frozen lake, with a fourth fighting for his life. But Greater Manchester Police is still having to remind people not play on frozen lakes and ponds.
The boys - aged eight, 10 and 11 - were pulled from the icy lake at Babbs Mill Park in Solihull, West Midlands. Flowers, balloons and toys have all been left at the scene since the tragedy on Sunday (December 11), after the trio fell into the water and suffered cardiac arrests.
Officers from GMP issued a warning to families urging them to warn children of the dangers of playing on frozen water soon after the tragedy unfolded, but the message still hasn't got through to some. In a post on Facebook today (December 14), a spokesperson for GMP Leigh, Atherton and Hindley said: "Despite the recent tragic incident in Solihull reports are still coming in of children playing on ice covered ponds/lakes.
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"It may seem obvious but please tell your children not to enter ice covered stretches of water. It's not just the risk of drowning if the ice breaks but also the health dangers of being submerged in freezing cold water."
Police have continued searching the lake in Solihull throughout this week. A fourth boy, aged six, remains in a critical condition in hospital following the incident.
The 10-year-old boy has been named as Jack Johnson. His aunt, Charlotte McIlmurray, posted online: "The 10-year-old boy is my nephew. He seen one go through the ice and he ran and tried to save them.
"Our prayers and thoughts are with the other family. We are just broken over it. To find out he died trying to save three lads he didn’t even know, that just sums him up. He was amazing.”
At a news conference earlier this week, Superintendent Richard Harris of West Midlands Police said officers went 'waist deep' into the water during the search, with one treated for mild hypothermia. He added: "It’s important to stress though that we’ve had no contact from anybody suggesting that there’s anybody else missing but until we’re 100% certain we will be carrying on searches throughout the course of today."
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