Toronto police are warning people to stay off ice after a young boy died trying to rescue his friend from a frozen pond.

"Parents should be telling their children to stay away from ice," said Const. Gary Gibson is with the Toronto police marine unit. "The only safe ice is ice in a rink."

The 11-year-old boy died in hospital Sunday night after he tried to pull his 15-year-old friend from a pond in north Scarborough. His friend was in critical condition Monday. Family members requested the boys' names not be released.

Police said the boys were on their way to a pickup soccer game at a nearby field when the older boy decided to venture on to the ice on a pond in the Finch Avenue East and Morningside Avenue area.

Friends say the boys threw rocks at the pond and because the ice didn't break the older boy thought it was safe to walk on. However, the ice gave way and he fell into the frigid water.

Officers tried to reach boy with human chain

The younger boy went onto the ice to try to pull his friend out. When the boy reached his older friend, he plunged through the thin ice as well.

When police arrived at the scene, they could see the 11-year-old struggling in the pond. Officers formed a human chain to try to reach him, but were overcome by the frigid water before they could reach him.

Other emergency service crews managed to pull the older boy from the water. He was taken to hospital.

Up to 45 minutes passed before the younger boy was found, according to witnesses. When he was finally pulled from the water, he was airlifted to hospital, where he died.

Four police officers suffered hypothermia from the rescue attempt and were treated in hospital and released.

Never walk out on ice in rescue attempt, police say

Gibson warned that the last thing someone should do is walk out on the ice to try to help someone.

Instead, witnesses should call 911 and any rescue attempts should be made safely from the shoreline, using a long stick or tossing a life ring to reach the person in trouble. 

Recent cooler temperatures have caused a thin layer of ice to form on some ponds, small lakes and slow-moving rivers in Toronto and the surrounding area.

But police warn that the ice is unable to support any kind of weight.

Unless ice is certified as safe by authorities, it should be treated as unsafe, a police news release said.