A growing memorial of stuffed animals, cards and flowers sits on a walking bridge in Airdrie, a small suburb of Calgary. It’s a place for the community to gather and mourn the sudden loss of a six-year-old boy.
He and his brother were walking on the thin ice Monday afternoon, when they both plunged into the water.
“I was walking yesterday and heard the commotion and saw the helicopter land and saw them put him in the helicopter,” said Trudy High after witnessing the rescue efforts.
“I just thought about him all night. We have grandsons the same age. It’s just tough.”
The hole in the ice is a glaring reminder about the dangers that exist.
“I am praying for the family and the big brother,” High said. “It’s a tough lesson for the whole community.”
Watch below: The community of Airdrie is in shock after the death of a little boy and the near drowning of his brother. They were playing on a canal when they went through the ice. Kim Smith reports.
Parents coming by with their children are taking the tragedy as an opportunity to talk to their kids about water risks.
Noura Sousa works with the grieving mother and said it was important for her to pay her respects.
“It’s nice to see the community coming together, but you can’t bring him back,” Sousa said.
“It really touched home and I just held my kids tight.”
Sousa has started a fundraising campaign for the grieving family to help with funeral costs. The family of the boy is still keeping a bedside vigil at their surviving son’s bedside. The 10-year-old boy is still recovering.
RCMP Cpl. Curtis Peters confirmed to Global News that the 10-year-old was released from hospital Tuesday afternoon.
The mayor of Airdrie says the city is grieving the loss and intends to support the family.
“It impacts the whole community, so we are doing our best,” Mayor Peter Brown said, choking back tears. “It’s been a tough 24 hours, but you’re seeing family and residents rallying together.”
First responders are trying to cope, too, knowing they did everything they could during the rescue.
“We have children and we are people,” Fire Chief Garth Rabel said. “But we could not be prouder of our team and I was extremely impressed with how they were managing an extremely difficult call.”
The City of Airdrie parks department said it will assess signage on open waterways to see if any improvements are needed.
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