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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
World
Ryan Merrifield, News Reporter

Four-year-old boy dies at Center Parcs in tragic incident on Christmas Eve

A four-year-old boy has died at Longleat Forest Center Parcs in the UK after being "pulled from the water", police have confirmed.

Emergency crews rushed to the popular holiday resort in Longleat, Wiltshire, just after 11am on Christmas Eve.

The child has not yet been identified.

A Wiltshire Police statement said: “Sadly, it’s been confirmed that a four-year-old boy has died following an incident at Center Parcs Longleat Forest near Warminster shortly after 11am this morning (24/12).

“This is not being treated as suspicious. Our thoughts are with the boy’s family at this difficult time.”

READ MORE: 'Serious medical incident' at Center Parcs as child 'pulled from water'

A Center Parcs spokesperson previously confirmed the incident took place in the Subtropical Swimming Paradise - which includes water rides and slides.

A witness claims the incident involved a young boy in the wave pool.

A woman told The Sun her family watched the horror unfold this morning.

She added: "My daughter and son saw it as well - she’s quite upset.”

It's understood the pool was evacuated and closed.

An air ambulance is said to have been called to the scene.

Following the tragic news, a Center Parcs spokesperson told The Mirror: "We are deeply saddened by the tragic news that a young guest has passed away at Longleat Forest today.

"We are offering our support to the family and to our employees who provided immediate assistance.

"Our thoughts remain with the family at this very difficult time."

A mother-of-five staying at the leisure complex said the atmosphere is “very quiet” as the park’s TV channel displays a message that the pool is closed following a “serious medical incident”.

The woman, who is from the Midlands and did not want to be named, said: “Thankfully we didn’t see anything… We noticed a big crowd all leaving the plaza.

"We were headed back to our lodge to have lunch before swimming.

“I checked my phone and saw the pool was closed due to an incident.

“The plaza is all open, the parc market, gift shops, etc, there is just a temporary barrier across the entrance to the pool itself."

The mother-of-five, from the Midlands, said the resort had made public announcements that the sub-tropical swimming paradise would remain closed for Christmas Eve.

“If I hadn’t been on the group or seen the announcement on the news, I’d have been none the wiser," she said.

“It’s very quiet though… It does say there’ll be an announcement later on today re the pool.”

Earlier today, the company said: "We can confirm there has been a serious incident in the Subtropical Swimming Paradise at Longleat Forest this morning and we will update further when it’s appropriate to do so."

According to the website, the water park features a wave pool and Wild Water Rapids as well as water play areas and whirlpools.

The Mirror has contacted South Western Ambulance Service for further information.

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