Man arrested after children in river plunge fight for life

West Mercia Constabulary said a five-year-old girl and a six-year-old boy were both in a critical condition after being airlifted to hospital in Birmingham following the incident in Evesham, Worcestershire.

Officers later arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder.

The younger child was only rescued from the submerged vehicle by police divers two hours after the emergency services were called to Boat Lane in Evesham.

A police spokesman said: "Officers were called to the scene at around 9.19am after reports a car had entered the river containing occupants.

"Emergency services, including divers, took part in a rescue operation and a man and two children were recovered from the river.

"The man was taken to Alexandra Hospital, Redditch, where he was treated and later discharged."

The police spokesman, who would not comment on the relationship between the man and the children, added that a man had been arrested in Evesham on suspicion of attempted murder.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said the boy and a man in the car had escaped from the water when its crews arrived but the girl was rescued from the vehicle by police divers.

An ambulance service spokesman said: "The boy's condition was stabilised before he was airlifted to Birmingham Children's Hospital in a critical condition.

"A young girl was pulled from the submerged vehicle around two hours later by police divers.

"Ambulance staff immediately started resuscitation attempts and she too was airlifted to Birmingham Children's Hospital."

Nick Toy, an incident support officer with West Midlands Ambulance Service, attended the incident. He said that, although the girl was unresponsive when she was brought to the river bank, resuscitation attempts had started straight away.

"The reason why every effort was made is that there is evidence of young people surviving immersion in cold water," Mr Toy said.