The 12-year-old child who fell into the Charleroi-Brussels canal in Roux (Charleroi) as he was trying to fish out a ball early on Tuesday evening, has died. After a 30-minute search, divers from Charleroi emergency services were able to get him out of the canal but the boy died in hospital the same day.
The child was playing on the canal bank with his brother and sister when their football ended up in the canal. The boy tried to fish it out with a stick under the Heigne bridge but slipped and disappeared under the surface of the water almost immediately.
His younger sister immediately called for help and some nearby factory workers attempted to find the boy, in vain. Divers from Charleroi emergency services were informed and, although night was falling, launched a search-and-rescue operation on site. The divers found the boy after searching for 30 minutes and he was brought back to the bank where the emergency services attempted to resuscitate him. The child was close to death and taken to hospital, where he died shortly after being admitted.
(Source: Belga)
