Search resumes after girl's fall into reservoir
Emergency crews have resumed their search for a teenage girl who is believed to have fallen into a reservoir.
Officers were first called to the dam at Baitings Reservoir, near Ripponden, at about 13:15 BST on Wednesday, after reports of a person in the water.
Five West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service crews were also sent to the scene, as well as a crew from Greater Manchester, with the ambulance service also in attendance.
Police said it was expected that the search at the reservoir, which had included underwater teams on Wednesday, would continue on Thursday.
Emma Hardy MP, minister for water and flooding, told the BBC she was "praying for" good news.
Hardy, Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice, said: "I'm so desperately sorry to hear about what's happened to this young girl, and my heart goes out to her family and friends who must be feeling absolutely devastated.
"Of course, there's a live police search going on and I'm desperately hoping that we have the good news that we're all praying for."
She added: "The priority has to be finding that girl - and hoping she's safe and sound."
It's windy this afternoon, making the water in the reservoir very choppy.
The boat used by police search teams has been rocked side-to-side as two people place white and blue buoys in the water.
The focus has been around the dam wall, which arcs around in the middle of the valley.
Family members watch on from near the main road as specialist officers try to find the young girl who went into the water more than 24 hours ago. It must be an agonising wait for news.
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Reservoir search after reports girl fell in water
West Yorkshire Police

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Man jailed for 'horrific' abuse of child
A man who sexually abused a young girl nearly two decades ago has been jailed. Peter Woolner committed the offences between 2001 and 2007 when his victim was aged between eight and 14. The 74-year-old was found guilty after a trial of two counts of indecency with a child, two counts of indecent assault and three counts of possessing indecent images of a child. On Friday, Woolner, of Fairway, in Normanton, was jailed at Leeds Crown Court for seven years and handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. According to West Yorkshire Police the victim reported the crime in 2021, prompting a "complex and lengthy" investigation. Det Insp Mark Tester said: "I want to praise the victim for her courage in coming forward to report the horrific abuse she was subjected to. "Peter Woolner targeted a vulnerable child and it is right that he is now behind bars for his crimes. "I hope his sentencing provides some sense of justice for the victim and allows her to begin to move forward with her life." He also urged any victims of unreported sexual offences to come forward and contact police, adding: "We will thoroughly investigate all inquiries to bring perpetrators to justice." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. West Yorkshire Police
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fresh search for Madeleine McCann gets under way in Portugal
The latest searches for Madeleine McCann are getting under way in Portugal with officers gathering in countryside a few miles from the resort where she was last seen in 2007. Madeleine, then aged three, disappeared while on holiday with her family in the resort of Praia da Luz after her parents went out to dinner and left her sleeping in a room with her toddler twin siblings. Police vehicles were seen around 3.5 miles from the resort on Tuesday, in the Atalaia area, where the Sun has reported search teams are expected to use radar equipment that can scan beneath the ground. The BBC said four vans carrying German officers were seen driving down a road leading to the sea, along with Portuguese police and a fire engine. Journalists were being kept a distance away from the search site amid intense international media scrutiny of the operation. It has been variously reported that investigators will look where trenches were dug near the resort at the time of Madeleine's disappearance, at wells, ruins and water tanks, and that there are plans to examine 21 pieces of land. The search is being carried out at the request of the German federal police as they look for evidence that could implicate prime suspect Christian Brueckner, who is in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. He is due to be released from jail in September if no further charges are brought. In October last year, Brueckner was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. Around 30 German police officers, including forensic experts, are expected to take part in the search along with Portuguese officers, with the activity due to last until Friday. The Metropolitan Police said it is aware of the operation but that British officers will not be present. German investigators and Portuguese officers last carried out searches in the country in 2023 near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz. Brueckner, who spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017, had photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir. It was previously searched in 2008, when Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia paid for specialist divers to search it after he claimed to have been tipped off by criminal contacts that Madeleine's body was there. British police were later given permission to examine scrubland near where she vanished in 2014. Last month, Madeleine's family, who are from Rothley in Leicestershire, marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance, describing her as 'beautiful and unique' before her 22nd birthday, and expressing their determination to keep searching. A statement from her parents Kate and Gerry McCann and the family said: 'The years appear to be passing even more quickly and whilst we have no significant news to share, our determination to 'leave no stone unturned' is unwavering. We will do our utmost to achieve this.' In April, ministers approved more than £100,000 in additional funding for Scotland Yard detectives investigating Madeleine's disappearance.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
New Madeleine McCann search under way
Portuguese and German authorities have started a new search into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal nearly two decades ago. Madeleine was three years old when she vanished from an apartment complex in the town Praia da Luz in Algarve during a family holiday on 3 May 2007. Her disappearance sparked a Europe-wide police investigation, and has become one of the highest-profile unsolved missing person cases in the world. On Monday, Portuguese police confirmed they were carrying out the search on warrants issued by German prosecutors. Portuguese police say the search - which covers the municipality of Lagos near Praia da Luz - is due to continue until Friday. Four vehicles carrying German police have arrived on the search site, the roads to which have been closed off. German investigators have taken the lead in the case since they identified Christian Brückner as their prime suspect in 2020. The 48-year-old is currently serving a sentence in Germany for a separate crime - the rape of a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal in 2005. He is due to be released later this year. German authorities suspect him of murder but have not found enough evidence to bring charges, while Brückner repeatedly denies any involvement. Portuguese authorities have also named Brückner as a formal suspect, or "arguido". They said they would hand over any evidence seized in the latest search to German authorities. The team of German and Portuguese investigators have been given permission to search 21 plots of land between the Ocean Club resort Madeleine disappeared from and where Brückner had been staying at the time. German authorities told the BBC on Monday that "criminal proceedings are currently under way in Portugal" with the support of Portuguese police. The previous search was two years ago, focussed around a reservoir where Madeleine was last seen. Brückner, who spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017, was found to have photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir. The night Madeleine disappeared, her parents had been at dinner with friends at a restaurant a short walk away while Madeleine and her younger twin siblings were asleep in the ground-floor apartment. Her mother, Kate, discovered her was missing at around 22:00. A German documentary in 2022 found evidence that Brückner occasionally worked at the Ocean Club as a handyman, while German prosecutors have also linked his mobile phone data and a car sale to their case against him. Madeleine's parents last month marked the 18th year anniversary of her disappearance, saying their "determination to leave no stone unturned is unwavering". The Metropolitan Police - which this week said it was "aware of the searches being carried by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal" - continues its investigation into Madeleine's disappearance. The case, known as Operation Grange, has been going since 2011.