Police say the search is continuing at the lake where three children died after falling through the ice. Officers say they have no had any reports of missing children but they will continue to search until they are certain no-one remains in the water.
Police say it is incredibly sad that three children have died after falling through ice on a frozen lake on Sunday. Firefighters described it as 'a tragedy beyond words'.
Police say the families of the children are 'absolutely devastated'. Officers say one police officer suffered hypothermia trying to punch through the ice to rescue the children.
Police 'waded waist deep' to try to get to the children while firefighters 'did everything they could'. Police and firefighters entered the water in their normal uniforms with no regard for their own safety, officers have said.
Superintendent Richard Harris, of West Midlands Police, told reporters: “Police officers did go into into the water.
“They were joined by other members of the other emergency services. Some of the officers went in waist-deep.
“One of my officers was trying to punch through the ice to actually rescue the children themselves. That officer as a result of that had some mild hypothermia yesterday. I’m pleased to say that he’s now been released from hospital and he’s absolutely fine.”
Superintendent Harris said there are a number of witnesses officers still want to speak to and appealed for anyone with information to contact the force.
West Midlands Fire Service area commander Richard Stanton said the deaths of three boys who fell into a frozen lake was a “stark reminder” of the dangers of open water.
He told a press conference at the scene at Babbs Mill Park in Solihull: “Yesterday’s incident is a stark reminder to us all of the dangers of open water, especially during the winter months.
“Frozen lakes, ponds, canals and reservoirs can look picturesque but they can be lethal and there are no greater warnings of this than yesterday’s tragic events.
“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.”
Police have had no contact from anyone suggesting there are others missing after an incident at a lake at Babbs Mill Park in Solihull but will keep searching on Monday to make “100% certain”.
Superintendent Richard Harris, of West Midlands Police, told reporters: “We have to be 100% certain that there is no one else possibly in the water at this time.
“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.”
Three boys aged eight, 10 and 11 have died after being pulled from an icy lake in Solihull.
A fourth boy, aged six, remains in a critical condition in hospital.
Emergency services were first called to Babbs Mill Park in the Kingshurst area of Solihull, West Midlands, near Birmingham 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.”
Police added that 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.
Meriden MP Saqib Bhatti visited the scene at Babbs Mill lake on Monday, along with the leader of Solihull Council Ian Courts and deputy leader Karen Grinsell, with each praising emergency services for their heroic efforts to pull the children from the water.
The MP told reporters: “Clearly there is one officer who has mild hypothermia. In these conditions not to worry about your own safety and just to go after those children is heroic.
“The (search) operation went on all night in these really tough conditions.
“The whole community will be feeling the pain of this.”
And Cllr Courts said: “This is just about as bad as it gets… a dreadful situation.
“We are completely stunned at what’s happened.
“Clearly our thoughts and prayers have to be with the families in this situation. I can hardly imagine what the families are going through.”
Temperatures are thought to have plunged to 1C (34F) in the area at the time of the incident, falling to -3C (26F) overnight.
