MONITORING DESK
LONDON: The United Kingdom (UK) police on Monday said that three boys aged eight, 10, and 11 have died while another boy is in serious health condition after they fell into an icy lake near Birmingham in central England.
West Midlands Police said in a statement that three boys tragically died after falling into the icy lake at Babbs Mill Park in Solihull on Sunday afternoon.
The boys suffered cardiac arrest and were shifted to hospital after being rescued from the icy water.
“Unfortunately, they could not survive and our thoughts are with their bereaved friends and family at this extremely devastating time,” police said.
The incident took place as the United Kingdom was struck by freezing conditions and heavy snow, causing major travel disruption, on the eve of a national rail strike.
UK weather and Arctic blast
The United Kingdom weather has been experiencing a cold snap for the last several days, with temperatures in some areas dropping to -10 Celsius degrees (14 Fahrenheit), although the Meteorological Department said the temperatures for this of the year were not unusual.
The service has issued yellow alerts for frost, snow, and fog in many areas, including southwest and southeast England and Scotland’s north. Meanwhile, London Stansted airport warned of disruption amid the freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall.
Later, the airport authorities said that the runway was fully operational. However, travelers should still expect delays in flights.
UK weather disrupts flights operation at airports
The airport is a central hub of budget airline Ryanair, which also warned about disruption to its flight operation at Gatwick, south of London.
UK weather of Heathrow airport
At Heathrow airport, the UK weather largest airport, more than fifty flights were also canceled on Sunday due to freezing fog and snow.
After the dump of about four inches (10 centimeters) of snow overnight, bus and train services in London were also severely affected. The overnight snow also forced the closure of parts of the M25 orbital road around the capital, the country’s busiest motorway. Some schools were also closed due to the severe weather condition.
