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A major search is under way for a boy, aged 3, who is believed to have fallen into a river in Leicestershire.
Leicestershire Police said the reports came in at about 5pm today (18 February) that the youngster had fallen into the River Soar near Middleton Street, in Aylestone.
Emergency services, including water rescue teams, have been searching for the boy.
The child had been with family when he fell into the river and a man has been taken to hospital “as a precautionary measure”, the force said.
Police said the search will not take place overnight but will resume in the morning.
The operation is ongoing and will continue with “additional specialist teams” on Monday morning, the force said.
The child’s family are being supported by specialist officers.
The force said: “Our thoughts are with them at this extremely difficult time.
“We have had a number of offers of support to assist with the search and would kindly ask that people do not attend the scene due to rising water levels and safety risks.
“If anyone has any information or comes across anything that may assist officers, they are asked to contact us immediately.”
A spokesperson for the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said: “This is a police-led incident. We can confirm we were alerted at 17:05 and still have water rescue teams at the scene.”
People are asked to contact 999 if they have information about what happened, quoting incident reference number 476:180224.
Additional reporting by Press Association.
