Three boys aged eight, 10 and 11 have died after falling into an icy lake - and a fourth boy, aged six, remains in a critical condition in hospital.
The tragic news was confirmed by West Midlands Police on Monday morning. Emergency services were first called to Babbs Mill Park in the Kingshurst area of Solihull, near Birmingham, at 2.36pm on Sunday, where it was reported four children had been playing on the ice and fallen 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 taken to hospital.
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.
"We've been working alongside colleagues from the fire and ambulance services as we do all we can to support those involved. Searches of the lake are continuing as we seek to establish exactly what happened and if anyone else fell into the water.
"We understand how distressing this is for the families and the wider community. We would ask people to not speculate or share any video footage at this stage."
Temperatures are thought to have plunged to 1C (34F) in the area at the time of the incident, falling to -3C (26F) overnight.
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