Youngsters went into cardiac arrest once they have been rescued and have been taken to hospital. (File)
London:
Three boys aged eight, 10 and 11 have died and one other boy stays in vital situation after they fell into an icy lake close to Birmingham, central England, police mentioned Monday.
“Three boys have tragically died after falling into the lake at Babbs Mill Park in Solihull yesterday afternoon,” West Midlands Police mentioned in an announcement.
The boys suffered a cardiac arrest and have been rushed to hospital after being pulled from the water.
“Sadly, they may not be revived and our ideas are with their household and mates at this deeply devastating time,” mentioned police.
“A fourth boy, aged six, stays in a vital situation in hospital.”
Witnesses reported seeing different youngsters on the lake, which froze throughout a chilly snap that has hit swathes of Britain, however police haven’t reported anybody else lacking.
Emergency providers have been rapidly on the scene, with fireplace and cops wading into the frozen water of their uniforms, Solihull Superintendent Richard Harris mentioned in a information convention.
One officer tried to punch by way of the ice to get to the boys, he added.
Harris mentioned the households have been “completely devastated” and the very fact it occurred in the course of the Christmas interval “provides to the tragedy”.
Identities of the victims won’t be launched till the households agree to take action, he added.
– Arctic blast –
The tragedy got here because the UK was hit by heavy snow and freezing situations, inflicting main journey disruption, on the eve of a nationwide rail strike Tuesday that was already anticipated to convey the nation to a grinding halt.
The UK has been experiencing a chilly snap for a number of days, with temperatures dropping to -10 levels Celsius (14 levels Fahrenheit) in some areas, though the Met Workplace mentioned the temperatures have been “commonplace for this time of 12 months”.
The service has issued yellow alerts for snow, fog and frost in a number of areas, together with southeast and southwest England, and the north of Scotland.
London Stansted airport warned of disruption.
“Our runway is briefly closed while we undertake snow clearing,” it mentioned late Sunday, with many flights cancelled early Monday.
The airport later mentioned that the runway was open and absolutely operational, however that travellers ought to nonetheless brace for delays.
The airport is a foremost hub of price range airline Ryanair, which additionally cautioned about disruption to its flights at Gatwick, south of London.
“As a result of ongoing extreme snowy climate throughout the UK, runways at each Stansted and Gatwick have been briefly closed tonight (11 December), disrupting all flights scheduled to depart Stansted/Gatwick throughout this momentary closure interval,” it mentioned.
Dozens of stranded passengers posted movies on social media exhibiting snow-covered runways and planes caught on the bottom.
Greater than 50 flights have been additionally cancelled on Sunday at Heathrow, the UK’s largest airport, as a result of freezing fog.
Prepare and bus providers in London have been additionally severely affected after the dump of round 4 inches (10 centimetres) of snow in a single day, which additionally compelled the closure of components of the M25 orbital highway across the capital, the nation’s busiest motorway.
Some colleges have been additionally shut.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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