Girl killed in Kidderminster canal plunge

A police helicopter landed in Springfield Park to help deal with the incident

A six-year-old girl has died after falling into a canal with two other children.

They were found near the Wolverley Court Lock, on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal in Kidderminster, at about 18:20 GMT on Tuesday.

The girl was rescued and taken to hospital in Birmingham where she died.

The other two children managed to get out of the water themselves and are expected to make a full recovery.

The pair, a boy and girl also believed to be aged six, were treated for hypothermia before being taken to hospital.

West Mercia Police said they had attended the scene in Springfield Park along with the fire service and an ambulance crew.

'Family devastated'

Supt Kevin Purcell, from the force, said: "Our investigation into this tragic incident is continuing this morning and we are working hard to establish exactly how the girl came to be in the water.

"The family of the six-year-old are absolutely devastated by their loss and I would ask that their privacy is respected at this time."

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said they had responded to reports of "children in difficulty in the water".

The spokesman said: "A female was recovered from the water and found to be in cardiac arrest. Resuscitation was immediately carried out on the child before the patient was later taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital.

"It is understood that the child later died in hospital.

"Two further children were treated at the scene for hypothermia. A boy and girl, believed to be six years old, were out of the water when ambulance crews arrived.

"They were conveyed to Worcester Hospital."