Four children in cardiac arrest rescued after falling into frozen lake in UK

Four children found in cardiac arrest

have been admitted to two hospitals in "critical condition" after being rescued on Sunday from a

British emergency services said.

After being alerted, firefighters and paramedics pulled the minors out of the freezing water during the afternoon in

a city southeast of

They were playing on the frozen lake when they fell into the water, witnesses said.

"The children were pulled from the water and the firefighters and ambulance drivers tried to revive them immediately," said Richard Stanton, head of the fire service in that area, during a press conference on Sunday night.

"Unfortunately, they went into cardiac arrest and received advanced resuscitation treatment at the hospital," said

of the local ambulance service.

The minors, with a "critical condition", were transferred to two different hospitals in Birmingham.

The balance of victims could worsen, because when the police arrived at the scene they told them that

fell into the water.

"For this reason, having rescued all four children, we continued our search to see if there were other people in the water,"

A team will continue with the rescue tasks during the night, but "taking into account the temperature of the water, the age of those who fell and the time they spent inside, it is no longer a rescue operation", but to recover

he acknowledged.

The United Kingdom has suffered a

with snowfall in some areas and temperatures below zero in much of the country.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

• United Kingdom

• Twitter

• events