Boy dies after getting into difficulty in River Tyne, with second teen in critical condition

A 14-year-old boy has died after getting into difficulty in the River Tyne in Northumberland, with another teenager taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Shortly after 3.30pm on Saturday, police received a report of concern for the welfare of two teenage boys who were in the river near the bridge at Ovingham.

Emergency services were immediately deployed to the area and one of the boys, aged 13, was rescued from the water and taken to hospital.

A number of organisations carried out thorough search of the area in a bid to locate the second boy, who was later found in the water and pronounced dead at the scene.

Northumbria Police Chief Superintendent Helena Barron said: “This is an absolutely tragic incident, and our thoughts are with the families of both boys at this difficult time as we continue to support them.

“A number of agencies were involved in the incident and their support was hugely appreciated. It is with great sadness that we could not provide a more positive update.”

Two Swift Water Rescue units from Pegswood, an appliance from Prudhoe and a number of senior officers were on scene from Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service.

Working alongside the fire and rescue teams were the Great North Air Ambulance who sent a rapid response vehicle.

In a statement the service also told ITV Tyne Tees that a doctor led team accompanied a patient to hospital in conjunction with the ambulance service.

It said: "We were activated to an incident in Northumberland at 15.40pm. Our Doctor-led team drove to the incident via Rapid Response Vehicle and arrived on scene at 16.24.

"They worked with the North East Ambulance Service to treat a patient before accompanying them to hospital."

Meanwhile, a North East Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called to reports of concerns of two people in the water in Ovingham at 3.30pm this afternoon (18 May).

“We dispatched our full Hazardous Area Response Team as well as two ambulance crews, a specialist paramedic, a clinical team leader and an officer."

A road closure was put in place from Riverside Road from Wylam to Ovingham Bridge.

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