West Midlands Fire Service are deeply saddened by the deaths of three boys who were rescued by firefighters yesterday (Sun 11 Dec) from a lake in Solihull.
Area Commander Richard Stanton, of West Midlands Fire Service, said:
“The boys’ deaths are a tragedy beyond words. The thoughts and heartfelt sympathies of everyone here at West Midlands Fire Service are with their families, friends and the wider community at this distressing time.
“Sunday’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. There can be no greater warning of this than Sunday’s awful 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 happening again.
“We will continue to work closely with our emergency services colleagues and provide any support we can at the scene. Again, we extend our heartfelt sympathies to everyone who has been affected by the boys’ deaths.”
Earlier today, West Midlands Police issued the following statement:
Three boys have tragically died after falling into the lake at Babbs Mill Park in Solihull yesterday afternoon (11 December).
The boys, aged 11, 10 and 8 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 6, 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.
You can contact us with information, video or images via https://mipp.police.uk/operation/20HQ19Z98-PO1.
