Girl, 11, dies after attending birthday party at water park

AN 11-year-old girl who was “celebrating a friend’s birthday party” has died after going missing at a water park near Windsor.

Police investigators said they were called to Liquid Leisure in Berkshire at 3.55pm yesterday and following an extensive search, a girl was located just after 5pm. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, but sadly passed away.

One witness, who had been at the park with her children, said the girl was seen going under and “didn’t come back up”.

“At that point, the lifeguards came running,” she told Sky News. “She was with a group of friends for a girl’s birthday,” said the mother, who did not want to be named.

Members of the public who were at the activity park were asked to call her name on the beach, in case she had got out of the water and was back on land.

Another visitor claimed that staff members asked them for goggles so they could look for the girl underwater.

She said: “We were waiting to go on things and lifeguards were running all over the obstacles and looking under them. They were dismantling the Ninja Warrior near the beach, looking for her.”

Footage from the park shows emergency services, including fire crews and an air ambulance, at the scene.

The girl’s death is being treated as unexplained and an investigation has been launched, Thames Valley Police said. Although formal identification has yet to take place, the girl’s next of kin have been informed and they are being offered support by officers.

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: “My thoughts are with the family and friends of the girl who has died as a result of this tragic incident.

“We are in the early stages of investigating this incident to understand the full circumstances. There was a swift response from all emergency services and following an extensive search of the lake, the girl, who was 11, was located at around 5.10pm and taken to hospital but sadly died.”

The Sunday Telegraph has contacted Liquid Leisure for comment.