Update: Gardaí have confirmed that one person has died following what is being treated as a tragic accident on Lough Derg earlier this evening.
While the circumstances of the tragedy are not completely clear and under investigation, it’s understood that the victim was travelling on a jetski when it capsized in the water. It’s believed the young man attempted to make it ashore but was unable to do so.
The body was recovered by volunteers from Killaloe Ballina Search and Recovery Unit in an area south of the bridge.
A Garda spokesperson confirmed: “Gardaí and other emergency services attended the scene of an incident in Lough Derg at Killaloe, County Clare, on the evening of Wednesday 31st May 2023 following reports of a male getting into difficulty in the water. ”
Following an extensive search by Gardaí, the Killaloe Coast Guard, the Killaloe/Ballina Search and Rescue and the Killaloe Fire Service, the body of one male was recovered this evening and pronounced deceased at the scene.”
The body of the victim, believed to be in his late teens and from Limerick, was removed to University Hospital Limerick where a postmortem examination will be carried out.
Earlier: Emergency services are dealing with a serious water-based incident in the Killaloe area this evening.
The alarm was raised at around 5.30pm when it was reported that there was a person in difficulty in the water at the lower end of Lough Derg close to the bridge at Killaloe/Ballina.
A multi-agency operation was mounted by watch officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s marine rescue sub centre on Valentia Island in Kerry.
Units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from nearby Killaloe station; local Gardaí; the Killaloe unit of the Irish Coast Guard and National Ambulance Service were all requested to respond to the incident.
The Shannon based search and rescue helicopter, Rescue 115, Killaloe/Ballina Search and Recovery Unit, members of Lough Derg Sub Aqua Club’s Search and Recovery Unit and Tipperary Search and Rescue were also tasked.
It’s understood that one person has been recovered from the water however no more details are available at this time.
More to follow…
