Major search launched as boy aged 2 falls into river in Leicester and vanishes

18 February 2024 , 20:29

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Police are on the scene near the River Soar in Leicestershire

Police have launched a major search operation following reports a young boy fell into a river and has not been seen since.

The two-year-old reportedly fell into the River Soar in Leicestershire in Braunstone. Leicestershire Police said all emergency services were in attendance and searching for the child after they received calls he fell into the water at around 5pm. A man was also taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.

One local resident said on Facebook that police are not letting anyone past the cordon at Aylestone Road. She wrote: "Police said [they] can’t have anyone else other than search and rescue as it’s dark and could make things worse." Another wrote: "I’ve been walking my dog for nearly two hours and they have people in the river looking for the child, there are so many police and fire service people down on the canal banks with big ores trying to search."

A Leicestershire Police statement read: "Earlier this evening (Sunday 18 February) officers were called to the River Soar in Leicester after reports of a child falling into the water. The child, a 2-year-old boy, was with family when he fell into the river, sadly despite the best efforts of those at the scene at the time the child was not located. Emergency services attended the scene just after 5pm and a search and rescue operation began in Aylestone Meadows, close to Marsden Lane. A man was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.

"The operation is ongoing and will continue with additional specialist teams in the morning. The child’s family are being supported by specialist officers and our thoughts are with them at this extremely difficult time. We have had a number of offers of support to assist with the search and would kindly ask that people do not attend the scene due to rising water levels and safety risks. If anyone has any information or comes across anything that may assist officers, they are asked to contact us immediately. Specialist teams are on standby to respond to any information received."

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There are current flood alerts in place for the area, with river levels expected to remain high until Tuesday, according to the Environment Agency. It says in an update: "We are closely monitoring the situation. Our incident response staff are patrolling watercourses in the area. Please avoid using low-lying footpaths near local watercourses and plan driving routes to avoid low-lying roads near rivers, which may be flooded."

This is a breaking news story.

Rachel Hagan