Solihull icy lake tragedy, Dec 2022

[danny la rouge]

It seems three of the children have died. It’s heartbreaking.

Solihull: Three children die in icy lake tragedy

Three boys aged eight, 10 and 11 have died after falling into an icy lake near Solihull on Sunday

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Pickman's model]

an awful tragedy, the poor boys, their families and friends

never go onto ice: 155 years ago 40 died in regents park London's Forgotten Disasters: Ice Skating Tragedy In Regent's Park

 

[Glitter]

This news has really upset me. Not sure why this particular story is bothering me so much but it really is.

Their poor families.

 

[cupid_stunt]

They still think there's two more still in the lake, and the search continues.

A truly dreadful situation.

 

[Cloo]

Really upsetting, especially when you have a kid the same age as one of them. My heart goes out to the poor families.

 

[danny la rouge]

This news has really upset me. Not sure why this particular story is bothering me so much but it really is.

Their poor families.

I know. I think partly it’s because it’s children, partly it’s the time of year, and partly because it’s such an avoidable tragedy. They were just playing and having fun. And still two unaccounted for. It’s horrible.

 

[Sue]

This news has really upset me. Not sure why this particular story is bothering me so much but it really is.

Their poor families.

Me too. A group of young boys out having fun and disaster striking in an instant. Their poor families. And the firefighters/police desperately trying to get them out. And all just before Christmas. Desperately sad.

 

[Thora]

Horrendous. 6, 8, 10 & 11 year olds out together sounds like it could be brothers.

I definitely need to talk to my 8 and 12 year olds about dangers of ice.

 

[Sue]

Horrendous. 6, 8, 10 & 11 year olds out together sounds like

I definitely need to talk to my 8 and 12 year olds about dangers of ice.

They were reporting that people were shouting to them to get off the ice right before it happened. And you can just imagine as a kid how fun going on the ice was and it not even occurring to them that it was dangerous. Because they were kids.

 

[Thora]

They were reporting that people were shouting to them to get off the ice right before it happened. And you can just imagine as a kid how fun going on the ice was and it not even occurring to them that it was dangerous. Because they were kids.

Children aren't going to understand that when they see people in movies/stories walking or skating on ice it's really thick and frozen for days/weeks before you can walk on it.

 

[Glitter]

I know. I think partly it’s because it’s children, partly it’s the time of year, and partly because it’s such an avoidable tragedy. They were just playing and having fun. And still two unaccounted for. It’s horrible.

This is it exactly. And I have children a similar age, which doesn’t help.

The reporting is vague about the two unaccounted for. I assume they must know they’re missing by now, I am just fruitlessly hoping they’re wrong.

 

[Petcha]

Oh Christ, the cop doing the press conference is implying they're all from the same family....

 

[kalidarkone]

This is it exactly. And I have children a similar age, which doesn’t help.

The reporting is vague about the two unaccounted for. I assume they must know they’re missing by now, I am just fruitlessly hoping they’re wrong.

They - the police have just said on 5 live that they are still looking just in case, but there have been no reports that anyone else is missing or unaccounted for.
Initially conflicting/ confused info regarding how many were seen on the ice.

 

[ElizabethofYork]

Devastating.

 

[Rebelda]

Oh it's just awful. Too awful.

 

[Part 2]

No more missing according to police

Police say no suggestion more are missing in Solihull lake where three children died after falling through ice – as it happened

Children aged eight, 10 and 11 have died after being pulled from lake; emergency services waded into lake without cold weather gear

www.theguardian.com

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

This is just too horrible. Who didn't fuck about on ice as a kid? Aware of the dangers but not truly aware. Two weeks until Christmas

 

[sojourner]

I know. I think partly it’s because it’s children, partly it’s the time of year, and partly because it’s such an avoidable tragedy. They were just playing and having fun. And still two unaccounted for. It’s horrible.

They must have been absolutely terrified. The poor loves, their poor parents. It's a horrible tragedy, right before Christmas too.

 

[sojourner]

No more missing according to police

Police say no suggestion more are missing in Solihull lake where three children died after falling through ice – as it happened

Children aged eight, 10 and 11 have died after being pulled from lake; emergency services waded into lake without cold weather gear

www.theguardian.com

That's something, at least.

 

[Sasaferrato]

This is just too horrible. Who didn't fuck about on ice as a kid? Aware of the dangers but not truly aware. Two weeks until Christmas

I grew up on Harris, which benefits from the Gulf Stream, so ice and snow, if any, tended to be short lived.

One year though, we got a sustained spell of freezing weather, and the reservoir froze over. Of course we kids were out on the ice.

Never having experienced ice on the reservoir before, I didn't realise that it is thinner at the edge, and being a reservoir, the water at the edge is deep. I went whizzing across the ice towards the other side, arrived there and went through the ice into about ten feet of freezing cold water. I couldn't swim (I was 65 when I finally learned).

Every year I send a Christmas card to a man on Harris called Norman MacDonald. He went into the water and pulled me out, had he not, I wouldn't be posting this.

 

[editor]

This news has really upset me. Not sure why this particular story is bothering me so much but it really is.

Their poor families.

Same for me. I couldn't stop crying through the news report and that's not like me at all. It's an awful, awful tragedy.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

I grew up on Harris, which benefits from the Gulf Stream, so ice and snow, if any, tended to be short lived.

One year though, we got a sustained spell of freezing weather, and the reservoir froze over. Of course we kids were out on the ice.

Never having experienced ice on the reservoir before, I didn't realise that it is thinner at the edge, and being a reservoir, the water at the edge is deep. I went whizzing across the ice towards the other side, arrived there and went trough the ice into about ten feet of freezing cold water. I couldn't swim (I was 65 when I finally learned).

Every year I send a Christmas card to a man on Harris called Norman MacDonald. He went into the water and pulled me out, had he not, I wouldn't be posting this.

Jesus fuck mate, good old Norman MacDonald!

 

[editor]

Horrendous. 6, 8, 10 & 11 year olds out together sounds like it could be brothers.

I definitely need to talk to my 8 and 12 year olds about dangers of ice.

The news reporter made the point that you don't really see warnings about staying away from frozen lakes these days and I think he's right. I certainly remember seeing plenty when I was a kid.

Mind you, they were as scary as fuck

 

[RainbowTown]

R.I.P

Heroic effort from the emergency teams, they all done their very best in what must've been an awful situation. Kudos, too, to the local community who rallied round, bringing hot drinks and such like in order to assist the rescuers.

 

[Glitter]

The news reporter made the point that you don't really see warnings about staying away from frozen lakes these days and I think he's right. I certainly remember seeing plenty when I was a kid.

Mind you, they were as scary as fuck

I remember these too. Probably not the thread for it but there is a twitter handle called Scarred for Life which talks about these and many other horrifying 70s and 80s things.

 

[LDC]

I know. I think partly it’s because it’s children, partly it’s the time of year, and partly because it’s such an avoidable tragedy. They were just playing and having fun. And still two unaccounted for. It’s horrible.

Same for me. I couldn't stop crying through the news report and that's not like me at all. It's an awful, awful tragedy.

I'd say I'm not given to being very emotional and am pretty robust, but for me at the moment it just feels like so much is so hard and grim for so many people, things feel really precarious and fragile so anything bad day-to-day feels much more raw currently.

Obviously poor parents, realtives, and friends; but also the medical teams that have likely been working on them in hospital trying to get them back. Suspect that won't have been an easy shift, especially if they all went to the same A&E department.

 

[Sasaferrato]

Jesus fuck mate, good old Norman MacDonald!

Indeed. A selfless act.

 

[Glitter]

I'd say I'm not given to being very emotional and am pretty robust, but for me at the moment it just feels like so much is so hard and grim for so many people, things feel really precarious and fragile so anything bad day-to-day feels much more raw currently.

Obviously poor parents, realtives, and friends; but also the medical teams that have likely been working on them in hospital trying to get them back. Suspect that won't have been an easy shift, especially if they all went to the same A&E department.

Yeah, and everyone involved in pulling them out. The whole thing is horrific all round.

 

[Thora]

Spoke to my kids after school and the oldest one immediately had a story of Year 7s (11 year olds) kicking a ball onto our local frozen big pond on the way to school this morning and one of them getting on to the ice ("just one foot though! He was holding the wall!") with a stick to get it back
Luckily it's a very shallow duck pond but still, have terrified them with tales of what happens when you fall through ice. They're generally quite sensible kids but didn't know that it is basically never safe to walk on ice here.

 

[Elpenor]

Yeah, and everyone involved in pulling them out. The whole thing is horrific all round.

Exactly this. Reading about one of the cops punching through the ice to try to get to them