Airdrie residents are showing their support for the family of a six year old boy who died in hospital after he and his brother fell through the ice on a canal Monday afternoon.
Several people attended a candlelight vigil at 7:00 p.m. Monday evening.
Vanessa Clarke lives in the neighbourhood and felt compelled to attend.
“Our lives aren’t that important that we can’t take the time and pay our respects and show the family that we care,” she says.
A makeshift memorial includes a colourful teddy bear and flowers attached to the pedestrian bridge above the canal.
Emergency crews were called by an area resident to the community of Bayside at about 1:20 p.m.
The two boys were pulled from the canal, which runs through the neighbourhood, by fire crews and then turned over to EMS for care.
“The area where this happened is a residential area and they live in the area so it wasn’t as if the boys had strayed far from home by any stretch,” said RCMP Corporal Curtis Peters.
The six-year-old boy was flown by STARS to Alberta Children’s Hospital in life threatening condition where he died from his injuries.
The ten-year-old boy was taken to the hospital by ground ambulance with hypothermia where he remains in serious condition.
“Two brothers were pulled out of the water by emergency crews,” said Peters. “It’s a tragedy for the family and for the community, the loss of a child in a situation like this is just devastating.”
"This is a terrible tragedy," said Inspector Gord Sage, officer in charge of Airdrie RCMP. "This is a sad day and we offer our deepest condolences to the family."
EMS officials say they don’t know how long the boys were in the water or what factors were involved in the incident.
Police are investigating.
