Body of man who drowned while swimming in disused quarry recovered

The body of a man who drowned swimming in a disused quarry in Co Kildare was recovered on Saturday night.

The body of a man who drowned swimming in a disused quarry in Co Kildare was recovered on Saturday night.

Gardaí said the 22-year-old victim got in to difficulty while swimming with friends on Saturday. The incident happened at a disused quarry at Ballykelly, near Monasterevin.

His body was recovered by the Garda Sub Aqua Unit at about 7.30pm and removed to the mortuary at Naas General Hospital for a postmortem.

Elsewhere, two divers reported missing in Dublin Bay yesterday have been rescued by the RNLI lifeboat from Dún Laoghaire.

READ MORE

The alarm was raised when the pair, who were with a group diving off the Muglins Rock close to Dalkey Island, did not surface as planned.

A major search operation was launched by the Irish Coast Guard involving its rescue helicopter, RNLI and coast guard crews from Dún Laoghaire and the Irish Naval vessel, the LE Aoife.

At noon — about 30 minutes after the initial call — the two divers were spotted together on the surface. The pair had been swept a mile and a half north of the original dive site by the incoming tide.

Stephen Wynne, RNLI lifeboat operations manager at Dún Laoghaire, said: “This incident could easily have been a tragedy. Fortunately, the correct procedure was followed in raising the alarm early enough.”