The lengths emergency services went to to try and save three children after they fell through the ice on a lake in Solihull in the UK have been revealed.
Three boys aged eight, 10, and 11, died on Sunday (December 11) after an icy lake they were playing on caved in, leaving a fourth child, aged six, in a critical condition.
Emergency services were called just after 2:30PM GMT on Sunday, with ambulances arriving in just seven minutes, after the children fell through the ice into the freezing water below.
Despite efforts from bystanders and the police, the three children were unable to be saved.
Supt Richard Harris from the West Midland Police revealed that one of his officers even resorted to trying to punch through the ice with his hands to save the children after arriving on the scene.
He told reporters, via the BBC: "One of my officers was trying to punch through the ice to actually rescue the children themselves.
"That officer, as a result of that, had some mild hypothermia yesterday," adding that he had since been released from hospital after being taken there as a precaution.
Harris added: "On behalf of West Midlands Police I would like to pass on our deepest sympathies at this time. The tragic circumstances yesterday afternoon, so close to Christmas time, and our sympathies with the families who have lost loved ones in this incident."
He said the force were "doing our very best to support the families" that have been left "absolutely devastated" by the tragic incident.
The names of the children who died have yet to be released, with Harris adding that police are abiding by families' requests over how much information they want to be made public.
Police had been called to Babbs Mill Park on Sunday afternoon amid reports that up to six children fell in the icy lake.
Bystanders had claimed the children had been playing on the ice before it unexpectedly caved in. Officials added that those who lost their lives "could not be revived" despite being rushed to hospital, after reporting that four children were in cardiac arrest when they were pulled out of the lake.
Officers were photographed wading into the lake with freezing waters coming up to their chests before it was later announced that it was "no longer a search and rescue operation" due to the harsh temperatures, the age of those that fell in and the length of time they had been in the water.
The UK's Met Office warned people of the dangers of frozen lakes amid the cold spell, saying in a statement: "With temperatures set to struggle to get much above freezing over the coming days across much of the country, stretches of water such as rivers and ponds are at risk of freezing.
"While frozen rivers and ponds can be fascinating, they can be dangerous and a hazard to life."
Our thoughts go out to everybody affected by this tragedy.
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