An 11-year-old girl is reportedly fighting for her life after unsuccessfully trying to rescue a 12-year-old boy who fell into the freezing water of a New York park lake after the ice gave way under his weight. Saturday afternoon.
“Our thoughts are with the families of these students during this incredibly difficult time,” Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter of the Albany Municipal School District where the two children attended said in a statement. This is a terrible tragedy and we are grieving as a school community.”
On Saturday around 4:35 p.m., Albany police were reportedly called to Washington Square Park, New York, where two children, a 12-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl, had just crossed the street. ice near the lake house, according to NBC News.
Due to their young age, the identities of the little victims were not disclosed by the police, according to the American media.
At first glance, it appears that the girl tried to rescue the boy after the ice gave way under her weight on his way to the lake house.
Upon arrival, authorities were able to locate the girl, but the boy’s body was not recovered until several hours later by the state police’s underwater recovery team. New York.
Rushed to an Albany medical center, she remained in critical condition Sunday, according to NBC News.
A crisis unit was set up Monday by the school district to provide support to classmates of the two children, who attended the North Albany Middle School.
This sad story reminds us that we must be vigilant on bodies of water, even when the ice seems solid enough, to avoid tragedy.
So far this year, the Lifesaving Society has documented at least 58 suspected drownings in Quebec since the start of 2024.