Solihull lake: Boy, 6, remains in critical condition

The boy fell into a lake at Babbs Mill Park, in Kinghurst, Solihull, along with three others on the weekend.

The other boys, aged eight, 10 and 11, died, while the fourth boy remains in hospital.

He was pulled from the water by emergency crews, including a police officer who tried to punch through ice during the rescue efforts.

West Midlands Police said nobody else had been reported missing.

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, with Superintendent Richard Harris, of West Midlands Police, saying: “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.”

Families affected by the tragedy are “absolutely devastated”, Mr Harris said.

He told reporters: “Also this time of year, it’s on the run-up to Christmas, so close to the event itself, also adds to that tragedy.

“But as you can imagine the families are absolutely devastated, which is why we’re doing our very best to support the families.

“And obviously we’re abiding by their requests at the moment as to how much information that the families want us to to make available to the media so we’re doing everything we possibly can to support them.”

West Midlands Fire Service area commander Richard Stanton said the deaths of the three boys were a tragic reminder of the dangers of open water.

Appearing beside Supt Harris, Mr Stanton said: “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.”

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