Hero schoolgirl, 11, dies in frozen lake after trying to save boy - 'Terrible tragedy'
Eamonn Holmes reacts to school closures due to snowfall
GB News
An 11-year-old schoolgirl has died after jumping into a frozen lake to save a 12-year-old boy that plunged into the ice.
The tragic incident took place at Washington Park Lake in Albany, when the boy, who also died, was walking across the lake.
At 4.35pm on Saturday, the 12-year-old boy fell through the ice and plunged into the freezing water below, Albany Police Department said.
A young girl then dived into the lake to try and save him.
Two school children have died after being submerged in a frozen lake (not pictured)
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Emergency services quickly responded and managed to pull the girl out of the lake before giving CPR and then rushing her to Albany Medical Center Hospital in critical condition.
She sadly died from her injuries three days later.
The boy’s body was recovered by an underwater recovery team at 7.30pm, a few hours after the girl had been rescued.
Albany Police Department said: “The Albany City School District has been notified and will continue to offer support services. The Albany Police Department extends its heartfelt condolences and support to the families and friends of both children during this difficult time.”
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The force said that it believed the boy had attempted to walk across the body of frozen water to get to his lake house, before falling through.
“It is then believed that the 11-year-old female observed the boy fall through the ice and, in an attempt to help, followed the same path of travel across the lake, where she also fell through the ice," Albany Police Department said.
A local reporter who was in the area at the time also said that they could hear a person screaming and thrashing in the water, quickly prompting a 911 call.
Max Fajardo, a member of the National Guard who also noticed the commotion, said that the girl was “trying to be a hero”.
The children were both students in the Albany City School district
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Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said it was surprising that the children made it as far as they did, as the ice was extremely thin.
“It’s just a reminder of how fragile life can be and how important it is that we ensure that our children know and that everyone in our community knows that venturing out onto the ice is not a safe thing to do on any of the bodies of water here,” Sheehan told TV station WNYT.
The names of the children will not be released but police confirmed that they were both students in the Albany City School district.
“Our hearts go out to the families of these students at this incredibly difficult time,” Albany City School District Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter said in a statement after the incident. “This is a terrible tragedy and we are grieving as a school community.”
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