3 kids safe after falling through partially frozen lake in Mount Holly

3 kids rescued after falling into frozen lake

The Mount Holly Township Police Department provides FOX 29 with body-camera video showing the moments three kids were rescued after falling through a partially frozen lake.

MOUNT HOLLY - A boy and two girls are safe after police say all three fell through a partially frozen lake Wednesday in Mount Holly.

What we know:

Officers from the Mount Holly Township Police Department were called to Woolman Lake on Wednesday afternoon after the children fell through the ice.

Police say a boy was able to reach land before officers arrived, but two girls remained partially submerged in chest-deep icy water.

Body cam footage shows kids rescued from frozen lake in Mounty Holly

Body camera footage shared by police shows two kids being helped to shore after falling through a partially frozen lake in Mount Holly.

Officers helped guide the girls closer to the shoreline by using a rope and both girls were safely pulled from the water, according to police.

All three children were taken to Virtua Hospital as a precaution due to cold water exposure, police said.

Members of the Westampton Fire Department helped retrieve the children's personal property from the water.

What they're saying:

Police are using this incident to remind the public that "no ice in our area should ever be considered safe, regardless of recent cold temperatures or appearance."

"Ice thickness can vary significantly and unpredictably, even within the same body of water," police said. "We strongly encourage parents and guardians to speak with their children about the dangers of frozen lakes and waterways."

The Westampton Fire Department assisted on scene by gathering the students’ belongings on the ice.

"Mount Holly Police Department was able to get them out before anybody else got there," said Westampton Fire Chief Craig Farnsworth. 

The chief called the group "lucky" since the water wasn’t too deep.

"Once you go into the water, hypothermia will kick in very quickly," said Farnsworth. "Your body starts to shunt all its blood to the core to try to protect the vital organs, the heart, the liver and such, so you will lose consciousness pretty quickly."

Westampton Township Emergency Services said first-responders train for rescues like this, and they were out practicing today. 

"It looks appealing it looks fun, but you know you fall through, and you know you can get back up or you can’t," said Westampton Mayor Sandy Henley. "As you can see, there’s a special way that you come out and you roll to get out of it, to get out of the ice and to be safe. Unfortunately, we all don’t know that."

"We do this training at least once a year, especially once it gets cold obviously," said Farnsworth. "We usually come here and pretty much do what you just saw us do. We put somebody in the water."

The chief stressed all ice is dangerous ice, and that not all ice in one spot is going to be the same thickness across-the-board.

If you fall through and you’re by yourself, make noise to attract attention, and try to spread your weight out across the ice that hasn’t fallen. Then, kick as hard as you can to escape.

"If maybe somebody wasn’t around or if it was just one of them, it could’ve been a lot different," said Farnsworth."