North East fire chiefs have issued an urgent warning about playing on ice after the tragic death of three boys who fell into a lake.
Three children, aged eight, 10 and 11, died after being pulled from an icy lake in the West Midlands on Sunday, while another remains in a critical condition in hospital.
With the freezing temperatures set to continue across the North East this week, youngsters here have been urged not to venture out onto any frozen water.
Sunderland councillor Phil Tye, chair of the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority, spoke about the devastating incident in Solihull at a meeting on Monday morning.
The Labour councillor said: “We have many lakes across the Tyne and Wear area and we are absolutely sending out the message about the importance of not, under any circumstances, going out onto frozen water – lakes, ponds, whatever it may be.”
Emergency services were 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 through 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 and rushed to hospital.
In an update on Monday, West Midlands Fire Service said the incident was “a tragedy beyond words”.
Area Commander Richard Stanton added: “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.”
At Monday’s Tyne and Wear Fire Authority meeting, chiefs also discussed the suspected gas explosion in Jersey which killed at least five people.
Chief Fire Officer Chris Lowther confirmed that he had been offering support to counterparts on the Channel island after the deadly blast at a block of flats in St Helier.
He said: “We stand ready to give strategic support to the very, very limited number of strategic officers Jersey has and also to give operational leadership support to the command in Jersey who are having to deal with business as usual as well as the aftermath of this horrific incident.
