Boy, 7, found dead after going missing at river

One child died while swimming in a river and another is still missing at a disused quarry in separate incidents yesterday. A seven-year-old boy was pronounced dead at hospital after having been reported missing at the River Dee in Connah's Quay, Flintshire, North Wales.

Police, fire and ambulance crews were joined by lifeboat and RAF Teams and the North West Regional Underwater Search team. The boy had been reported missing shortly after 3pm yesterday.

A North Wales Police spokeswoman said: "North Wales Police received a call at 3.07pm reporting a missing child in the River Dee in the vicinity of Dock Road, Deeside. The police are now working with the RNLI, fire and ambulance services, and the North West Underwater Search Team to locate the young boy."

The boy's body was found shortly after 6pm. A spokeswoman for North Wales Police said: "The seven-year-old boy has now been found and he was rushed to hospital where, sadly, he was pronounced dead at 7.06pm."

Meanwhile, in an accident in Derbyshire, underwater search teams were called in after a teenage boy disappeared in the water at the flooded Milltown Quarry, near Ashover. Derbyshire Police confirmed that the emergency services had been alerted shortly after 3pm by witnesses who spotted the child in distress in the water. He was calling out for help.

A police spokesman gave the following statement: "Police are involved in a search for a teenager who got into difficulty while swimming. At this stage, the search is still in progress." Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had handed over the incident at the disused quarry to a police underwater search team. Fire Crews from Matlock, Clay Cross and Chesterfield were sent to the scene at 3.05pm, but the rescue operation was halted on the advice of an on-site medical expert.