05.01.10 Berkshire BASICS at Lake Ice Accident

A six-year-old boy remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital after plunging through ice into a freezing pond in Berkshire.

The boy is thought to have been underwater for half an hour before he was pulled out by firefighters after a five year old girl raised the alarm.

He was blue and unresponsive when recovered. Dr Graham Stiff a GP from Newbury and BASICS practitioner was on scene shortly after the first ambulance. Dr Stiff said "He was intubated and given CPR and resuscitation drugs were given by intraosseous infusion. When we got a cardiac output back he was airlifted to the John Radcliffe where he was placed on by-pass support.

Thames Valley Police said that the mother of the little girl who raised the alarm had already jumped into the freezing water, in the garden of a house, to begin searching for him when rescue crews arrived.

Dr Stiff said the little girl had been instrumental in the rescue. "She gave the fire-fighters a very clear idea of where he had fallen in, and her prompt raising of the alarm undoubtedly was a factor in giving this boy a chance to survive."

It is not known if the boy was attempting to walk on the ice, or accidentally fell on to it.

Paramedic Hugh Whitaker urged others to stay away from water.

"With the very thick frost we have been having, it's impossible to know whether ice on water is thick or thin," he said.

"If you go on to it, you risk falling through. Parents and children need to be vigilant.

"All icy water is dangerous and should be treated as such."

Unofficial reports suggest that the boy is still seriously ill but is making some progress in his fight to recover.