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11-year-old shaken up after falling through ice on Rockland pond

ROCKLAND, Mass. -- Rockland Fire Department is reminding residents of the danger of frozen ponds after an 11-year-old girl fell through the ice Wednesday afternoon.

The girl was walking on the ice at the pond at Hartsuff Park while another 11-year-old family member was on shore, a close family member told Boston 25 News. When the victim fell through, the other girl called family and then 911, trying to pull her to shore with a tree branch, the woman said.

When firefighters arrived, the girl had already made her way out of the pond and was sitting on the shore, Rockland Fire Chief Scott Duffey said.

She was taken to the hospital as a precaution and released Wednesday afternoon. The girl's family member told Boston 25 News she is doing well.

The girl's pink flip-flop remained stuck in the fragile sheet of ice later in the day, a pair of headphones inches away. The ice on a large portion of the pond, which is a swimming hole in the summer months, had melted in the record-breaking warm temperatures.

Duffey urged residents to take stay off frozen ponds and lakes, especially with the spring-like conditions.

"We have a saying that the only safe ice is the ice at a hockey rink," Duffey said. "We were very fortunate today."

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