River Avon Boat Accident Leaves Man And Child Dead

River Avon Boat Accident Leaves Man And Child Dead

A man and a child have been found dead after the boat they were travelling in overturned at a weir in the River Avon.

The child was recovered from the water in Barford, near Warwick, shortly before 8.30pm on Saturday and the man was found shortly after 10pm following a full-scale search by emergency services.

Both were declared dead at the scene. Two more children, who were pulled from the water earlier, are being treated in hospital.

The adult and three children had been in a small rowing boat which had capsized, the ambulance service said.

One of the youngsters is in a serious but stable condition in Birmingham Children's Hospital, Warwickshire Police said. The second child is being treated at Warwick Hospital and is described as conscious but poorly.

The names of the dead will not be released until formal identification processes have been completed, police said.

Emergency services were first called to the weir incident at around 5.35pm, after the small boat the four were travelling in capsized.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said two of the children were pulled out of the water, which was in full flow, by a resident and a police officer. One of the two youngsters had suffered a cardiac arrest and was given CPR by the resident and the policeman before paramedics arrived.

The child was taken to Warwick Hospital by land ambulance before being transferred to Birmingham's Children Hospital.

The incident prompted a major recovery operation involving Warwickshire Police, West Midlands Ambulance Service, Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service and Severn Area Rescue.

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