'I love you, big bro!' Family in emotional tribute as boys who died in Solihull lake
The families of four young boys, aged from six to 11, who died after falling into an icy lake in Solihull, Birmingham have set up a fundraising page in their name.
Solihull: Four boys who died after lake incident are named
The four boys killed after falling into a frozen lake at Babbs Mill nature reserve have been named as West Midlands Police confirmed three of the four were related. Finlay Butler, eight, his brother Sam Butler, six, and their cousin Thomas Stewart, 11 all died in the tragic accident. Six-year-old Sam became the fourth boy to die after being taken to hospital in critical condition but lost his battle on Wednesday.
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Jack Johnson was the first boy to be named after his family paid tribute to his bravery in trying to save the other boys.
Temperatures are thought to have plunged to 1C (34F) in the area at the time of the incident, falling to -3C (26F) overnight.
Jack's aunt Ms McIlmurray said: "My nephew saw one go through the ice and he ran and tried to save them.
"We are just broken over it and to find out he died trying to save three lads he didn't even know, that just sums him up, he was amazing".
READ MORE: Heartbroken firefighters lay flowers for boys who died in icy lake
Their parents released a joint statement speaking of their devastation following the loss of the four boys.
They said: “As a family we are devastated at the loss of our beautiful boys Tom, Fin and Sam in such tragic circumstances.
"We would like to thank the emergency services for all they did in rescuing the boys and to the community for their support, it has been overwhelming.
“We would like to pass on our condolences to Jack’s family at this very sad time, and ask for privacy from the media to begin to grieve.”
The elder brother of Thomas has also written a tribute in which he praised his "beautiful" brother.
He wrote: “Thomas was such a lively little soul, he had a big heart for such a young kid and he was so beautiful.
"He loved being outside playing with his mates. I love you Tom, big bro will take care of the family and I will see you soon.
"Make sure you keep practising on warzone and get a win, will you?"
“Can’t forget about my dinosaur man Fin, he loved dinosaurs so much and always showing me new things he built on Minecraft and all the new stuff he learnt on it. Gonna miss you little man.”
West Midlands police confirmed that searches have now concluded, and praised the local community.
Supt Rich Harris said: “This is a tragedy beyond words and a grief that is unimaginable for the families and friends of the boys.
“The support from the community has been overwhelming, not just for the bereaved families, but also for the emergency services, for which we are extremely grateful."
“Our officers will remain in the area in the coming days. Please come and speak to us if you need to.”
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