Three boys aged eight, 10 and 11 have died after being pulled from an icy lake in Solihull, West Midlands police said on Monday.
A fourth boy, aged six, is in critical condition in hospital after the accident in the lake in Babbs Mill Park.
Police officers were wading through lake water on Monday to establish if anyone else fell in, after reports from witnesses that up to six children may have been involved.
“Three boys have tragically died after falling into the lake at Babbs Mill Park in Solihull yesterday afternoon,” police said on Monday.
“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.”
This is just as freezing weather in northern Europe is causing severe travel disruption in some countries including the UK, with several London airports forced to close their runways and cancel many flights on Sunday night and into Monday morning.
At Heathrow, the capital’s largest airport, departure boards showed several flights cancelled to European destinations on Monday morning, the day after more than 50 flights were cancelled due to fog.
Stansted airport, north of London, tweeted on Monday morning that it “remains fully open and operational”, having said on Sunday night that its runway was “temporarily closed whilst we undertake snow clearing.”
