Police appeal for witnesses following death of baby rescued from river

Floral tributes are left on a bridge in Radcliffe, Greater ManchesterFloral tributes are left on a bridge in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester
Floral tributes are left on a bridge in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester
Police investigating the death of a baby boy who was rescued from a river have urged "a significant number of witnesses" to come forward.

The youngster, thought to be 11 months old and named locally as Zakari Bennett, was retrieved by firefighters from the River Irwell in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, after emergency services responded to reports that a child was in the water shortly before 4.25pm on Wednesday.

Zakari was rushed to hospital from the scene near Blackburn Street in the town centre but died a short time later.

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Baby boy dies after being rescued from river
A police cordon in place on Peel Street in RadcliffeA police cordon in place on Peel Street in Radcliffe
A police cordon in place on Peel Street in Radcliffe

However, detectives are continuing to appeal for information and believe that parts of the incident were captured on camera by members of the public.

Detective Inspector Wes Knights, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "This is an incredibly tragic incident which has taken the life of a baby boy, who we believe is only around 11-months-old.

"His family have understandably been left devastated by what has happened and we have specially trained officers providing them with support at this difficult time.

"We currently have a suspect in custody who will be questioned by detectives later today.

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"However, our investigation does not stop there and we need anybody with information to come forward and help us get answers for this little boy's loved ones.

"We know that there were a significant number of witnesses to what happened and I want to urge those people to come forward and provide us with as much detail as they can.

"It's also possible that other people may have information about the circumstances leading up to the incident, as we know the baby had been in the area for a number of hours beforehand.

"Given the time this happened and the large number of witnesses present, we know that some of the incident was captured in images or on video so I want ask people to provide these to the investigation team."

Anyone with images or videos which show the incident or the immediate aftermath should send them to the investigation team via Dropbox, using [email protected].

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