Teenage girl dies after ‘getting into distress’ at Merseyside reservoir

A large police presence was reported from around 1pm at Carr Mill Dam in St Helens

Police cordoned off East Lancashire Road in St Helens, outside the Toby Carvery in front of Carr Mill Dam (Ian Greig/Geograph/CC BY-SA 2.0)

A teenage girl has died after she “got into distress” while swimming at a popular lake in Liverpool, police said.

Emergency services rushed to Carr Mill Dam at around 12.30pm on Thursday after the alarm was raised over the safety of the girl.

A large police presence was reported and officers cordoned off the scene.

Giving an update at the scene on Thursday afternoon, Chief Inspector Paul Holden told reporters: “Upon their arrival at the scene, officers entered the water in an attempt to find the teenage girl. They were joined by officers from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service.

“Unfortunately, despite their best efforts the search culminated in the recovery of the girl’s body.”

He said the girl’s family had been told and would be supported by specialist officers.

Adele Laitak, 50, from Liverpool, said she had been walking around the dam when she heard shouting.

She told the PA news agency: “I heard a girl shouting. It sounded like she was in distress but we couldn’t see anything from where we were. As we came round we saw fire engines.

“It sounded to me like she was saying ‘help’ but because we were over the other side of the lake we didn’t know if it was just kids messing around.

“A police lady who was at the edge of the lake said a child’s gone missing and some women told us two children had gone into the water but one had managed to get out.”

A man who had been walking his dog in the area said: “Three police officers went into the lake, we saw one of them afterwards and he was wringing wet.

“The helicopter has been up as well.

“It’s such a nice day and people are just attracted to these natural beauty spots.”

Police cordoned off East Lancashire Road in St Helens, outside the Toby Carvery in front of dam. Emergency services vehicles gathered in the pub car park.

Customers dining at the Toby Carvery were not allowed out of the back of the restaurant, the Liverpool Echo reported. The OYO Lakeside Haydock Hotel was also been cordoned off by police.

Less than 24 hours earlier, a 17-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl died after being pulled from the sea at Bournemouth beach, which was crowded with sunbathers.

Elsewhere, Lewis Michael Kirkpatrick, 15, was found dead in the River Eden in Carlisle on Saturday afternoon, one day after he and three other teenage boys got into trouble in the water.

One of the group, a 14-year-old, was airlifted to hospital on Friday and remains in a critical condition. Another was able to swim to safety, with the other rescued by a member of the public.