A heartbreaking accident has now become a tragedy.
A source tells CTV news a three-year-old girl has passed away after falling through thin ice near Red Deer Friday morning.
Her five-year-old sister remains in the care of Edmonton's Stollery Children's Hospital.
RCMP say the tragic event is a reminder of the dangers associated with the return of spring temperatures.
"With the weather that we've been having, with the warm and the cold, the freezing and the thawing, the ice on some of these bodies of water on these rural properties are dangerous," says Cpl. Larocque of the RCMP – Blackfalds detachment. "The RCMP urge landowners and parents to take all precautions necessary to protect these standing bodies of water from any children or adults that may be in the area.:
Cpl. Larocque adds that the RCMP recommends posting signs or erecting fencing near bodies of water, and to educate children of the dangers of playing near ponds.
