Babbs Mill Lake in Solihull: Emergency services to continue search through the night

A search operation at Babbs Mill Lake on Fordbridge Road in Kingshurst, Solihull will continue through the night, police confirmed at a press conference this evening (Sunday, December 11).

Four children are in a critical condition in hospital after falling through ice and suffering cardiac arrest. Two have been taken to Heartlands, another two were taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Police did not confirm how many children were involved in the incident - or if any were still missing - but initial reports suggested there were up to six children in the frozen waters.

Supt Richard Harris of West Midlands Police said: "When the fire service arrived at the scene, we were made aware there were up to six people in the water.

"So after rescuing the four children, we have continued the search and rescue operation to confirm whether there were any more in the water."

However, he said given the temperature, the age of the children involved, and the time they would have been in the water meant it was "no longer a search and rescue operation". Teams can be seen searching the dark water at the local nature reserve on inflatable dinghies and using torches.

Richard Stanton of West Midlands Fire Service said that by the time fire crews had arrived on the scene, police officers and members of the public were in the water trying to reach the children.

One officer suffered mild hypothermia and was also taken to hospital. Emergency services swam to the first child before rescuing three further children.

All were given advanced life support care and blue-lighted to hospital where they are on life support. No clinical updates, or details about the children’s ages, have been given.

In an earlier statement, WMFS said: “At 2.36pm on Sunday 11 December, West Midlands Fire Service, along with West Midlands Ambulance Service and West Midlands Police, were called to Babbs Mill Park in Solihull.

“Reports from the scene and videos on social media indicate that people had been playing on the ice on a pond and had fallen through. Our specialist water rescue teams arrived and acted assertively to take control of the scene and carry out rescues using specialist equipment and entering the water.

“Casualties have received medical support at the scene from both firefighters and ambulance personnel prior to being taken to nearby hospitals.

“The incident is still a search and rescue operation, being led by West Midlands Fire Service. We would ask people to allow emergency services at the scene to go about their work in a safe and effective way. We will release further details when appropriate with our fellow blue-light partners.”