Young swimmer, 14, found drowned in Dutch lake

After over seven hours of searching, emergency services found the body of a 14-year-old boy in lake 't Zand in Alphen late on Sunday night. The Tilburg boy disappeared under water while swimming with friends around 4:00 p.m. that afternoon. The lake is usually used for recreational purposes, like swimming, Omroep Brabant reports.

The boy's friends sounded the alarm when he disappeared. Firefighter divers immediately launched a search. After several hours, when night fell, the operation turned from rescuing the boy to finding his body. Police specialists took over, searching with sonar.

Police divers removed the boy's body from the water shortly after 11:00 p.m. The boy's family was informed.

A witness told Omroep Brabant that hundreds of people lined the shore of the lake, to watch the rescue operation. A number of trained swimmers also helped the emergency services in their search.