A four-year-old boy is in stable condition after being pulled from a creek southeast of Winkler, following a late-afternoon accident that quickly escalated into a life-threatening emergency on Monday.RCMP say they received a call at approximately 4:55 p.m. reporting that a young child had fallen into a creek near his home located southeast of the city. The boy had been playing outside with his older brother when the two moved past a treed area and approached the water without permission.Investigators say the younger child stepped onto ice and snow along the creek’s edge, which suddenly broke away beneath him. He fell into the cold water and was carried downstream by the current through a culvert.The boy’s older brother immediately ran home to alert their mother. She rushed to the creek and searched the area, then crossed a nearby road when she was unable to find him. The mother eventually located her son downstream, where he had been swept by the current.Despite not knowing how to swim, she entered the water and, with assistance from a neighbour, managed to pull the child back to the bank. .She then began performing CPR, successfully reviving him before emergency responders arrived. A neighbour called 911 during the rescue effort.Paramedics treated the child at the scene before transporting him by air ambulance to hospital in Winnipeg. Officials say he was alert when he was taken from the scene and, as of the latest update, remains in stable condition.RCMP are reminding residents across Manitoba to exercise extreme caution near waterways during spring thaw conditions. Police warn that melting ice, combined with rain or snow, can rapidly raise water levels and weaken stream and riverbanks, increasing the risk of falls into fast-moving, cold water.
