A major search is underway at Pickmere Lake, near Knutsford, after a teenage boy was reported missing after entering the water on the hottest day of the year.
Police, fire crews, search and rescue teams and paramedics have swarmed a park in Cheshire as a major search operation has been launched.
Emergency crews launched the major search operation at a lake near Knutsford after reports of a teenage boy going missing while swimming.
The alert was raised shortly before 5pm. Images and footage circulated on social media revealed a substantial emergency presence at the Pickmere Lake, with pathways surrounding the area also cordoned off.
It was understood that a teenage boy had gone into the water on the hottest day of the year, before being reported as missing, reports the Manchester Evening News.
A Cheshire Police spokesperson said: “Emergency services are in attendance at Pickmere Lake following reports of a missing teenage boy. Officers are making a search of the area with assistance from the police helicopter, and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service.”
“Members of the public are asked to avoid the area while emergency services work at the scene. Anyone with information should contact Cheshire Police on 101 quoting IML 2336977.”
Five fire engines were also dispatched to the location, alongside a rapid response unit, technical rescue unit and boat unit as part of the water rescue mission.
A Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service statement on the incident read: “Firefighters were called to reports of a person who had entered the water in Pickmere Lake, near Knutsford.
“On arrival, firefighters deployed a rescue boat and water rescue firefighters to assist partner emergency services in searching the area for the missing individual. Firefighters and emergency services are still in attendance at the scene and further updates will be provided when available.”
The search comes after five tragic deaths over the Bank holiday weekend as a heatwave brought record breaking temperatures to the UK. The family of a 15-year-old boy who died in a lake have spoken out amid their grief to urge others to be aware of the dangers of open water. Declan Sawyer was discovered during a search of Swanholme Lakes near Lincoln on Sunday while the UK was recording record-breaking high temperatures.
Another teenage boy who “went missing in water” while cooling off at a popular country park in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on Bank Holiday Monday. Police have this morning confirmed that a body has been recovered after an overnight search.
On Monday, a 13-year-old, named locally as Reco, was pulled from the water after he drowned in Leadbeater Dam near Halifax, West Yorkshire.
In Ireland Abbie Carmody-Pepper, 15, lost her life while swimming at Burrow Beach, Sutton, Dublin. Her death came hours after the body of a teenage girl was retrieved from the water at Kingsbury Water Park in Warwickshire. Flowers were placed at the location in memory of the victim, identified locally only as Lil, who was said to be 16-years-old.
