Two teens in river rescue; WEATHER: New scare after student drowns.Byline: Kat KeoghTWO teenagers looking to cool off in the hot weather were rescued from a Midland river less than 24 hours after a student drowned in a similar incident. Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said the pair were plucked from a mud bank on the River Trent, near Rugeley, just after noon yesterday. Firefighters had to cut down vegetation to reach the two, who were said to have been in their late teens and were led to safety. It happened less than a day after 17-year-old Tony Ballard died while swimming in the River Severn at Worcester. He was swimming with three friends when he got into difficulty. Emergency crews battled to save the 17-year-old after the alarm was raised shortly after 3.30pm on Monday. The Midlands air ambulance air ambulance Emergency medicine A helicopter or, less commonly, a fixed wing aircraft, used to evacuate a person who requires immediate medical attention that cannot be provided at his/her current location from Strensham, two rescue boats and several fire and police officers were sent to the scene. Search teams spent two hours looking for the teenager, of Jasmine jasmine (jăs`mĭn, jăz–) or jessamine (jĕs`əmĭn), any plant of the genus Jasminum of the family Oleaceae (olive family). Close, St Peter's, Worcester. He was taken from the river just before 6pm and paramedics immediately started resuscitation resuscitation /re·sus·ci·ta·tion/ (-sus?i-ta´shun) restoration to life of one apparently dead. cardiopulmonary resuscitation . Tony was rushed to Worcestershire Royal Hospital but was confirmed dead shortly before 9pm. His parents Duncan and Ellie Ballard paid tribute to their "big-hearted and generous" son. In a statement, they said: "Tony was a wonderful, loving, normal teenager with all the joys and frustrations that brings. "He always lived his life for the moment, never worried about tomorrow, and he died with his friends around about him. "We would like to pay tribute to his friends who did all they could to save Tony, to the police, fire brigade and ambulance staff for their hard work and support, and to the hospital staff at the Worcester Royal hospital, who worked heroically to resuscitate re·sus·ci·tate v. To restore consciousness, vigor, or life to. Tony. "Tony was big-hearted and generous of spirit, and that is how we will always remember him." A post-mortem examination is expected to be carried out tomorrow. Det Sgt Paul Freeman, of West Mercia Police, said: "The boy's friends are thought to have tried their hardest to rescue him from the water but unfortunately they were unable to save him." More than 60 of the teenager's friends have joined a group created in his memory on the social networking See social networking site. social networking - social network website Facebook. WEATHER WARNING: P35 CAPTION(S): Drowned: Tragic Tony Balllard. |
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