Several fundraisers have been launched for the families of three schoolboys who died after falling into a frozen lake.
Searches of Babbs Mill Lake, in Kinghurst, Solihull, are continuing into a third day as a six-year-old boy remains in hospital fighting for his life in a critical condition.
Two cousins, aged eight and 10, and an 11-year-old died after plunging through the ice on Sunday afternoon.
The 10-year-old boy has been named as Jack Johnson. Another was named locally in floral tributes as 11-year-old Thomas.
A six-year-old boy was also rescued by members of the public who waded into the lake and hero emergency workers, including one police officer who tried to punch through the ice.
The youngster was taken to hospital where police said he remains today in a critical condition still battling for his life.
Yesterday saw people beginning to rally round and try to support the families affected by the tragedy. A fundraiser has been launched by the brother of a headteacher at one of the schools attended by the youngsters.
He wrote: "I've decided to try and set this up to support the families of the children who so cruelly lost their lives yesterday at Babbs Mill."
The page has raised £340 of its £1,000 goal at the time of writing.
Two other GoFundMe's have also been set up for the families, with one reading: "I want to try and help the family/families as much as possible with funeral costs with it being so close to Christmas. Let’s come together for these boys and help the families."
Another said: "In these tough times these families must be totally devastated by the sad loss of their children. Words really cannot describe what they must be feeling let alone having to think about the cost involved for funerals in these very hard times.
"I have set up this page to help the families with any costs they may face and hopefully all you lovely people will share this page for them, let's raise as much as we can in this very sad time."
A candlelit vigil was held for the victims of the tragedy last night, with hundreds of colourful tributes now adorning a community shrine set up to remember the 'Babbs Mill Boys'.
Overnight, more tributes were left including four balloons in the shape of silver stars and two blue hearts.
One tribute read: “Rest in heaven little ones.”
Another note with a bunch of flowers said: “Sleep tight little angles. Rest in peace and shine bright.”
Jack died a hero after diving into the freezing lake to rescue the three boys.
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.”
Jack is understood to have been a pupil at St Anthony’s Roman Catholic Primary School in nearby Kingshurst. It was closed yesterday but has now reopened.
Board of governors chair Marcus Brain said: “One of our children has passed away.
“I’ve spoken to the family. The staff are absolutely devastated. The lad was a lovely boy. Everyone is in bits. We’re all in shock.”
Thomas was a pupil at Park Hall Academy in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, said friends.
Local Katie O’Driscoll, 32, said: “He was the first to be pulled from the lake but he has passed away. I heard the others went in to try to rescue him. It’s really hard to imagine what those parents are going through.”
The school tweeted: “Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved and our local community at this extremely difficult time.”
Several relatives of the schoolboys visited the lake but were too upset to talk.
Emergency services were first called to the scene at 2.36pm on Sunday, where it was reported four children had been playing on the ice and fallen through into the lake.
Members of the public and police officers initially went into the chilly waters to try to get the youngsters out, before the children were reached by specialist water rescue-trained firefighters who got the group to safety.
Those pulled from the water were given immediate life support by ambulance and fire service personnel before being rushed to two Birmingham hospitals; Birmingham Children's and Heartlands, where they all arrived in critical condition.
In an update on Monday morning, West Midlands Police said: "Three boys have tragically died after falling into the lake at Babbs Mill Park in Solihull yesterday afternoon.
"The boys, aged 11, 10 and eight, were rushed to hospital after being pulled from the water.
"Sadly, they could not be revived and our thoughts are with their family and friends at this deeply devastating time. We'll have specialist officers offering them as much support as we can.
"A fourth boy, aged six, remains in a critical condition in hospital."
Searches of the lake are continuing to establish whether anyone else fell into the water, following reports that as many as six children may have been involved.
However, there have been no other reports of missing people but the force said it wanted to be "100 per cent certain nobody else was in the water".
West Midlands Police tweeted this morning: "Our searches at Babbs Mill lake in Kingshurst will continue today.
"The six-year-old boy remains in hospital in a critical condition. We will release further updates as soon as we are able."
You can donate to one of the fundraisers here.
