A search of the river Avoca at Arklow, Co Wicklow, for a missing 28-year-old man has been called off for the present. Garda divers searched the river for a third day yesterday morning, but their search was fruitless.
A Garda source said they must now regard the Latvian man who lives in Drogheda, Co Louth, as missing, presumed drowned. The man has been missing since early Sunday morning after going for a swim in the river with a fellow countryman.
A Garda spokesman said they were still not releasing the man's name. They had been in contact with the Latvian embassy to seek help in contacting the man's family.
Gardaí divers spoke of the difficult conditions in the river.
"In all our time diving and searching we have never come across a river that was worse than the river at Arklow.
"It is just disgusting, filthy, and the worst we have ever come across. Human excrement is floating past you all the time," said a Garda spokesman.
Arklow Town Council is involved in a court action to get the green light to provide a sewage treatment plant for the town. At present all of the town's raw sewage flows straight into the river.