Leicestershire police have confirmed that the father of a missing two-year-old boy entered the River Soar in Leicester in an attempt to rescue his child. The incident occurred on Sunday just after 17:00 GMT across from the Aylestone area with emergency services, including water rescue teams attending to the scene shortly after. The boy was with his family at the time he fell in.
Additional specialist teams joined the search on Monday as police continued their extensive search using helicopter and aerial technology. Notably, they have also received help from Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire police forces, as well as national resources. The boy has yet to be located, and searches are set to continue over the following days.
Leicestershire Police Assistant Chief Constable, Michaela Kerr said that the force’s priority is to “find the little boy,” and that specialist divers were at the river, whilst underwater dive teams carried out extensive searches. While thanking members of the public for their support, she emphasised the dangerous nature of the area and requested that they refrain from coming back to the location.
The River Soar has burst its banks and the search is taking place efficiently despite facing powerful currents and flooding. On Monday evening, Sgt Chris Haines, leading the search operation, confirmed that dive teams would be continuing extensive searches in the near future. The Environment Agency has, in the meantime, issued a flood alert for the River Soar in Leicestershire, advising people to avoid low-lying footpaths and flood water altogether
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