Boy dead, girl in critical condition after falling through ice at pond in New York park
An 12-year-old boy is dead and a 11-year-old girl is clinging to life after the pair fell fell through ice at a east central New York pond, police said Sunday.
The reported accident which involved rescue and recovery conducted by local and state officials, took place late Saturday afternoon in the state's capital Albany at Washington Park.
The Albany Police Department reported at 4:35 p.m. officers responded to the park near its lake house for a report of two juveniles who had fallen through the ice.
Arriving officers and Albany firefighters located and rescued a 11-year-old girl, officials announced in a news release, who was treated on scene and transported to Albany Medical Center Hospital.
Police reported a 12-year-old boy who fell through the ice, was not immediately located.
Troopers recover 12-year-old boy's body from pond several hours later
A secondary search was conducted by members of the New York State Police underwater recovery team, and at 7:25 p.m. the body of a 12-year-old boy was recovered from the lake, the local police department reported.
A preliminary investigation revealed the 12-year-old boy attempted to walk north across the lake towards the lake house and fell through the ice.
"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," the agency wrote.
Her condition was not immediately known on Sunday but the 11-year-old girl was listed in critical condition on Sunday, police said.
Law enforcement notified both children's families and their names were being withheld due to their age, police said.
Paste BN has reached out to the coroner in Albany County.
'Our hearts go out to the families'
Both children are students of the City School District of Albany and school officials were notified about the incident.
“Our hearts go out to the families of these students at this incredibly difficult time,” the district's Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter released in a statement. “This is a terrible tragedy and we are grieving as a school community.”
The district will have crisis services available students and school employees, the district posted on its website Sunday.
How thick should ice be before you walk on it?
According to law enforcement, ice on a frozen lake, river or pond is never 100% safe.
People should make sure ice on ponds and lakes is least 5 inches thick for fishing, skating and walking and assure it's at least 8 inches thick for travel by snowmobile and off-road vehicles.
Contributing: Frank Witsil with The Detroit Free Press
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.