A child is in critical condition in a Calgary hospital after being rescued from a pond on Tuesday evening.
The four-year-old child was reported missing from the Kings Heights neighbourhood in Airdrie on Oct. 3, at 6:15 p.m. Shortly after, RCMP received another call about a child found in medical distress.
Police said by the time they arrived, bystanders had removed the child from a neighbourhood pond and given medical care until EMS arrived.
“We were all devastated, it was so sad,” said Brandy Ramdanny. She lives in the area and spoke to Global News about her reaction when she heard what happened.
“It’s something you hear about in other communities or areas, but to hear and know it happened pretty much in your backyard was really sad.”
EMS took the child via ground ambulance to hospital where the child remains in critical condition.
Residents out for a walk on the trail next to the pond on Wednesday said they believe the city needs to add a fence.
“There is complete access for kids to climb over those rocks, I just noticed that. And it’s high up too,” said Bob Houston.
“I think it’s one of those things where you don’t think about it until something happens,” said Ramdanny.
“I’ve never thought about putting fencing there. Now that something has happened, I think that they should do something.”
Lorne Stevens, the City of Airdrie’s director of community infrastructure said the city is looking for more details on the incident so it can reevaluate the setup of storm ponds.
“A review will be done once we have more information on this tragic incident,” Stevens said.
“Fencing all of our waterbodies in town, that might be something we may want to consider. But we need more information and to really understand what has transpired in this instance.”
Area residents that Global News spoke with praised the people that jumped in the pond on a chilly fall evening to help save the child’s life.
“We have faith in our community, and we know it takes a village to raise our children and we hope that we are all looking out for one another, “said Ramdanny.
Peter Brown, the mayor of Airdrie, offered his support to the family and said people getting involved to help rescue the child wasn’t a surprise because everyone in the tight-knit community looks after each other.
“The best part about Airdrie is when people fall down, we help them get back up,” Brown said.
“That’s why I tell people to move here.”
Police said the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
“RCMP has received exceptional community co-operation in this investigation and are kindly asking everyone to be mindful of the privacy of the family during this difficult time,” the RCMP said in a statement Wednesday.
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