Two children died after falling through the ice on an Indiana pond. (Representational)
Two 12-year-old children died after falling through the ice on an Indiana pond, despite the efforts of one of their mothers to save her son, officials said.
The children, identified in a news release as Paige Bailey and Brice Phillips, were playing outside before dinner when the incident occurred, said Ryan McIntyre, of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources's law enforcement division.
The woman heard her son yelling and the splashing of water, McIntyre said, and that's when she went outside.
"She went out to the pond and attempted to rescue the boy," McIntyre told The Post on Friday. "She was not able to pull him to land."
McIntyre said the woman saw her son "swimming," apparently attempting to try to stay afloat.
"That's when she went in to try to get him," he said.
A diver was able to pull out both Bailey and Phillips, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources said in a news release Thursday. But authorities think the children were "under water at least half an hour before being rescued," according to the agency. They were rushed to a hospital, where they died.
The ice was an estimated inch to an inch and a half in thickness at the time the children fell through, according to the release. It is not clear what the children were doing out on the pond, McIntyre said.
"It's still being investigated, but the reason for them being out there is unknown," he said.
State conservation Officer Joe Haywood gave a slightly different account of the incident to the Associated Press, saying that it happened as the woman was cooking dinner. The 12-year-olds asked if they could go play outside, and a few minutes later, the woman went to summon the kids back inside. According to Haywood's version, that's when she realized something had happened - when she saw her son in the water.
(When asked about the discrepancy, Haywood told The Post in an email that he thought the woman went outside and then heard her son.)
"They started CPR as soon as they were brought out of the water, and they continued that on the way to the hospital, but once they were at the hospital it was determined they had passed," Haywood told AP. "It's absolutely heartbreaking for everyone involved."
Bailey, whom McIntyre described as a friend of the Phillips family, and Phillips were both from Winslow, a southern Indiana community located about 131 miles from Indianapolis.
McIntyre said the accident occurred at around 5:15 p.m. Temperatures in Winslow were around 18 degrees at around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Suzanne Blake, superintendent of the Pike County Schools, said in a statement Friday that additional counselors were on site at local schools "to provide support and assistance for our staff and students."
Blake wrote that Paige Bailey was a 5th grader, known for her "bright smile and positive outlook on life." Brice Phillips, she wrote, was a "quiet and courteous young man." The 6th grader always greeted his teachers with a "good morning," and would wave as he left school each day.
"We realize the school is an extended family for them and our hearts also ache for their classmates and all who knew them," Blake said in the statement. "Please keep them in your prayers at this difficult time."
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