Three boys die in ice tragedy

Six boys plunged through the soft, thin ice of a river, leaving three dead and one in a critical condition in the United States.

Two of the boys were merely “cold and wet” after rescuers quickly retrieved them from the Merrimack River in Lawrence, Massachusetts on Saturday, Deputy Police Chief Joseph Marquis said.

The other four had been trapped under the ice for at least 10 minutes, and were unconscious when they were pulled from the river on Saturday afternoon, said Lawrence Police Chief John J Romero.

The boys, between seven and 11 years old, walked out on the one- to two-inch (5 cms) thick ice getting to about 25ft (7.5 metres) from the shore when the ice broke. A seventh boy who had stayed on shore ran to a nearby house to call for help after they fell through.

Arriving police formed a human chain and were able to pull out the two children closest to shore even after falling through the ice themselves, Romero said. It was then that they learned four more children were still trapped.

William Rodriguez, 11, Victor Baez, nine, and Mackendy Constant, eight, were pronounced dead at hospitals. Christopher Casado, seven, was in critical condition at Children’s Hospital in Boston, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Temperatures were above freezing on Saturday, but many rivers were still frozen after a recent cold spell.