A boy of six looked on helplessly as his twin sister disappeared under the surface after falling into a freezing canal.
Imie Harrison stumbled while clambering over lock gates with her brother CJ and their two friends.
CJ could not reach her from the towpath and when she slipped under the water he ran the half mile home to raise the alarm.
Their
mother Lisa, 45, rushed to the scene and screamed: 'My angel, please
not my angel.' Imie was pulled from the freezing water and paramedics
fought to resuscitate her before she was flown to hospital.
Imie Harrison, six, was in cardiac arrest when police rescued her from the canal after her twin brother raised the alarm
The six-year-old was pronounced dead a few hours after the accident early on Tuesday evening.
Imie,
CJ and two six-year-old friends were playing together on a remote
stretch of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal near
Kidderminster.
It is
believed the four children were clambering across the narrow lock gates
when Imie fell into the water along with another girl.
The
third girl jumped in and managed to save that child while CJ tried to
rescue Imie by lying on the towpath and reaching for his sister with his
arm.
Imie tried to scramble up the steep
sides of the lock but vanished under the water after suffering a
suspected cardiac arrest sparked by the freezing water and shock.
CJ
raced back to the family home to raise the alarm and rescue teams,
including 12 police cars, a force helicopter and three ambulances,
rushed to the scene.
Imie was dragged unconscious from the water and a police helicopter with a paramedic on board flew her to hospital.
Eyewitness
Ally Scott, 46, from Kidderminster, said: 'I saw this woman come from
out of the crowds by the canal in a right state.
The four children had been playing near Wolverley Court Lock on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
A police officer walks across Wolverley Court Bridge over the canal near where Imie fell into the water
'I didn't know who she was at first because police were chasing her but then paramedics took her to an ambulance.
'But
as the helicopter left that's when this lady got really upset. She was
absolutely hysterical and crying. She was screaming and screaming,
shouting, “My angel, please not my angel''.
She said: 'From where we were stood,
people said three girls had gone into the canal. They said they had
found one but one had gone under.
'One of my friends said the little boy
had lain down across the towpath and tried to haul the girls out but
couldn't reach his sister. He ran to his mother's house to get help.
'It was chaos. There were 12 police
cars and three ambulances. I saw the police get into their wetsuits and
go in the canal. Then I saw police carrying a little girl wrapped in
silver foil. They took her to an ambulance but it didn't rush off and I
don't think she was as serious. I didn't see the other girl.'
West Mercia police said it was unclear
whether the children fell into the water or jumped in, but police
sources said Imie's rescue was a joint effort by officers and members of
the public.
It is the second time in two years a child has died after falling in the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.
Police yesterday cordoned off the remote lock and warned parents not to let their children play there without supervision.
'Little angel' Imie Harrison's family are said to be 'absolutely devastated' by her death
Two other children fell into the canal but managed to get out and were treated for hypothermia
Police said the girl's family are 'absolutely devastated' at her death at the canal near Springhead Park
Superintendent Kevin Purcell said:
'They weren't playing in the water but an incident occurred that caused
two of them to fall in the canal.
'The message is to make sure you know where your children are and keep them away from water because it's dangerous.'
Imie's grandmother, Tracey Ridewood, paid a touching tribute to her granddaughter on Facebook beneath a picture of an angel.
She wrote: 'You have another little
angel to take care of Donna (Imie's late aunt). Tell Imie her nanny
loves her and give her lots of love and kisses.'
A neighbour, Jean Flanagan, 71, said:
'The little girl used to play outside with her friends a lot – we would
see her playing with her twin brother. They were inseparable.
'It's an absolute tragedy what has
happened. Kids go down there a lot, but there are no safety barriers.
Her mum is inconsolable.'
A West Midlands Ambulance Service 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. Two further children were treated at the scene for
hypothermia.'
In 2011, Robert Fidoe, 12, died after
he slipped from his bike and went into Stourport lock, Worcestershire.
He called for help shouting: 'I can't swim.'
Passers-by struggled to pull the boy
out because no life-rings were installed nearby. An investigation ruled
the death to be accidental.
Imie was airlifted to Birmingham Children's Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after
DAILYMAIL
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