11 hours ago
Body of teenage boy recovered from river after he 'encountered difficulties'
The body of a teenage boy has been recovered from the River Barrow in Carlow after he got into difficulty swimming on Tuesday evening.
The body of the teenager was found by Garda divers around 11pm following a search by the Garda Water Unit and local emergency services.
The 17-year-old is understood to have been swimming with a friend when he got into difficulty around 6.30pm in the river in the Milford area of the county - around eight kilometres from Carlow town.
The teenager was with his friend at a local gym and it is believed that they then decided to go swimming. The student's friend saw him get into difficulty in the water and tried to help him. However, as he attempted to help, he too was being sucked downwards due to strong river currents.
Eventually he managed to swim to safety and raise the alarm. Gardaí and emergency services from Carlow town were quickly on the scene.
The teenager was a Transition Year student in a local secondary school in Carlow town.
Emergency services, along with Gardaí, remained at the scene for several hours as a search got underway to locate the teenager. The scene remains cordoned off by Gardaí.
In a statement, Gardaí said that they, along with emergency services, were alerted shortly after 6.30pm on Tuesday after a 17-year-old male 'encountered difficulties' while swimming in the River Barrow at Cloghristick, Milford, Co Carlow.
At the same location 11 years ago, a 19-year-old man died after he took part in a Neknominate social media challenge, before stripping down to his shorts and jumping into the swollen River Barrow and drowning.
Jonathan (Jonny) Byrne, Tomard, Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow, lost his life on February 1, 2014 at Milford Bridge.
A subsequent inquest heard the victim could not swim and had a fear of water.
