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Search continues for boy missing in river

Richard Stead,in Clifton Country Parkand
Stewart Whittingham,North West
BBC/Phil McCann Divers in the River Irwell - a man in a police hat stands up - with a man sitting in the water beneath him with oxygen tanks on his back - a woman in a police hat and outfit holds a cameraBBC/Phil McCann
Divers are searching for a teenager who has not been seen since Saturday

A search is continuing for a boy who was last seen getting into difficulty in a river in a country park.

Greater Manchester Police said officers were called to the River Irwell in Clifton Country Park in Salford just before 17:00 BST on Saturday.

At the scene, there was an abandoned towel, swimming trunks and a beach mat at a patch of sand where people had been swimming.

Meanwhile, the body of a woman, in her 60s, was pulled from water near Mill Street in Tottington, Bury, just after 20:00 on Sunday and a 15-year-old boy died in Cowbury Reservoir in Stalybridge, Tameside on Saturday.

GMP said officers in Salford were called to reports of a boy "getting into difficulty" in the River Irwell on Saturday afternoon.

BBC/Phil McCann Several towels remain on a sandy section by the river, including a pink and white stripey towel, a yellow one, blue one, pink one. Rubbish bags and empty bottles next to them.BBC/Phil McCann
Towels and rubbish bags and bottles were left on a sandy area by the river
Police cars on a road.
Police at the scene at Clifton Country Park in Salford

"Emergency services and specialist search teams remain at the scene. The incident is ongoing," a spokesperson said.

No further details about the boy, including his age, have been released.

The River Irwell surrounded by plants and green shrubs on the river banks
The missing boy was last seen in the River Irwell on Saturday afternoon

There have been several disappearances and deaths in water across the country during this summer's hot weather.

Police recovered the body on Saturday of another 15-year-old boy who went missing after swimming at Testwood Lakes nature reserve, near Totton in Hampshire, while 22-year-old Brody Leach died after he got into difficulty in the River Severn in the early hours of Friday morning.

Sign reading: 'DANGER! Deep Water'.
Police warn people not to be tempted by getting into reservoirs, rivers, canals or ponds

A man also died at a beach in Essex on Friday. On Wednesday, a 50-year-old man was pronounced dead at Aberavon beach after getting into difficulty while swimming in the sea off the south coast of Wales.

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