Three boys die after being pulled from frozen lake

The youngsters – aged eight, 10 and 11 – were rushed to hospital after being rescued from the lake in the West Midlands yesterday.

Emergency services were called to Babbs Mill Park in the Kingshurst area of Solihull, near Birmingham at 2.36pm on Sunday, December 11, where it was reported four children had been playing on the ice and fallen through.

Members of the public and police officers initially went into the chilly waters to try to get the youngsters out, before they were eventually reached by specialist water rescue-trained firefighters.

They were given immediate life support by ambulance and fire service personnel before being rushed to two Birmingham hospitals; Birmingham Children’s and Heartlands, in critical condition.

West Midlands Police said today: “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 searches of the lake were continuing to establish whether anyone else had fallen into the water, following reports as many as six children may have been involved.

Temperatures are thought to have plunged to 1C (34F) in the area at the time of the incident, falling to -3C (26F) overnight.