Solihull: Six-year-old boy who fell into icy lake dies

A six-year-old who was one of four boys to fall into an icy lake near Solihull has died, police have said.

The three others, aged eight, 10 and 11, who have also died were with the younger child at Babbs Mill Park, in Kingshurst, on Sunday.

West Midlands Police said it was with "heartfelt sadness" it had to report the six-year-old in hospital had "lost his fight for life".

Hundreds of floral tributes and toys have been left at a site near the lake.

West Midlands Fire Service, which was also involved in the effort to rescue the boys, said it was "devastated" to hear the news.

It added: "We wish the family strength and comfort in these tragic circumstances."

The 10-year-old has been named locally as Jack Johnson, but the identities of the other three boys are yet to be confirmed.

Specialist diving teams were in the water until Tuesday, although police have stressed they have not had reports of anyone else missing.

They added all searches had now been completed and the cordon would be lifted.

On Wednesday, police said their deepest sympathies were with the families and friends of the children.

"We cannot comprehend the enormity of the pain they must feel and our hearts go out to them," a statement said.

A family member of Jack said all the families involved in the tragedy were suffering "unimaginable pain".

His aunt Charlotte McIlmurray thanked the local community on social media for their support.

Members of the public and police officers initially went into the water to try to get the children, before they were pulled out by specialist water rescue-trained firefighters. One policeman punched through ice to try to reach the boys.

Mourners have continued to visit Kingshurst, with hundreds of cards and gifts left by the community and people paying their respects at a site near Babbs Mill Lake.

On Wednesday, England footballer Tyrone Mings and his Aston Villa teammate John McGinn went to the scene to lay flowers.

Mings said it was a "personal decision" to pay their respects and said: "I think it's impacted the whole city [of Birmingham].

"Sometimes, as we've seen with other things that have happened across the city, there are things more important than football," he said.

"We felt it was important to come down here, show our respects and show we were thinking about everything that has happened and the parents that are affected by it.

"We feel that pain too."

The players had been at the club's mid-season training camp in Dubai before returning to the UK ahead of Thursday night's home friendly against Spanish side Villareal.

Club captain McGinn said: "We were in Dubai when we heard the news and I thought of my nieces and nephews, and the players thought about their kids.

"It was certainly moving for us."

Birmingham City's head coach John Eustace laid a wreath at the memorial on behalf of the team on Tuesday.

The community in Kingshurst was praised at Prime Minister's Questions earlier, as well as emergency services staff who responded.

Saqib Bhatti, Conservative MP for Meriden, told the Commons the people who he represents had suffered "an unimaginable tragedy" and the families were in his thoughts and prayers.

He asked the prime minister to join him in paying tribute to the community that had "come together and is supporting each other to get through this tragedy".

"And will you recognise the heroic efforts of the emergency services, including the police officer who used his bare hands to try and break through the ice and then jumped in the water with fire service personnel, without the PPE, risking their own lives to save the young children?" he said.

Rishi Sunak sent his condolences to the families and friends of the boys and paid tribute to the emergency services for "their incredibly selfless actions".

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