The Irish Ladies Under-21 Hockey squad have been held up in the worst ever floods to hit Prague as the freak weather continues to cause havoc across central and eastern Europe.
The Irish squad flew out to the Czech Republic last week to compete in the Junior European Nations Cup, due to be played from 11th-17th August in Ceske Budejovice, a town situated three hours north of Prague.
Although the flooding there has abated and the sun is shining today, the tournament was abandoned on Monday as the eight participating teams await the go-ahead from emergency workers to begin their journey home.
A spokesperson for the Irish Hockey Association confirmed the girls are in good humour at their Gomel hotel but cannot yet travel to Prague for their flight home.
The squad will remain at their hotel as increased flooding is expected in Prague today as the bulging River Vltava puts more pressure on rescue operations.
In the tournament, the girls had managed to play one match where they defeated Russia 3-0 in their opening game. Sarah Wilkinson got on the score sheet twice, Nicky Symmons scored the third.