Schoolboy, 14, who died after he got into difficulty swimming with pals in Cork named as tributes pour in
A TEENAGE schoolboy has died after going swimming with pals in Co Cork.
The incident happened in Passage West, in Cork Harbour, earlier this afternoon.
The boy has been named as second-year Colaiste Eamann Ris student Jack O'Sullivan, of Deerpark off Friars Walk in Cork city centre.
A group of young people were enjoying a swim off the boat pontoon in Passage West this afternoon.
It’s understood as they were jumping in off the man made mini-marina, one of the boys disappeared under the water.
A woman living in one of the apartments, who saw the boys were having problems, ran out and jumped into the sea but was unable to locate the distressed boy.
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The 14-year-old boy had arrived earlier with a group of friends by bus and gained access to the pontoon, which is owned by Cork County Council.
It’s understood the lock on the gate was broken giving youngsters access to the man made structure which was put in place for boats to dock at.
It's understood the boy got into difficulty in the water.
His pals made frantic efforts to locate him and when unsuccessful, the emergency services were contacted.
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Emergency services rushed to the scene after the alarm was raised at around 2pm.
No children were in the water at the time emergency services arrived.
A search was conducted by Coast Guard's Waterford-based helicopter Rescue 117, Crosshaven Coast Guard unit, Crosshaven RNLI, Gardaí, HSE paramedics and Cork Fire Brigade.
Divers searched the waters within a few hundred meters of the pontoon.
The coastguard and divers ribs scanned the water for any sign of movement while the Waterford based Rescue 117 searched the area from the air.
Local boat owners also joined in the search effort.
The lads body was recovered at around 4pm as his distraught parents waited for him to be brought ashore.
The teenager comes from a family of six, the youngest just a toddler.
A number of young people and adults gathered in the area, all praying and hoping that the boy would be found.
They were visibly distressed and obviously upset, with some of them crying and hugging each other.
Nearby about 50 meters, young children played in the playgrounds unaware of the drama that was unfolding nearby.
'PEOPLE ARE IN SHOCK'
The area is popular with youngsters for swimming during the summer months and is only a few hundred meters from Passage West rowing club facilities.
Children and teenagers enjoy swimming in the area when temperatures are high and while it is regarded safe, there was a tide flowing there around the time of the alert.
However, the area involved is understood to be dangerous due to strong tidal currents in Cork harbour.
A few years ago two young brothers were rescued by a man who spotted them in the sea, after they fell into the water.
The Coast Guard were notified of the incident shortly after 2pm and immediately contacted units from the local area including nearby Crosshaven RNLI. The rescue operation is being co-ordinated by the Valentia Coast Guard Centre.
Gardai said that shortly after 2pm Gardai and other emergency services received reports of a male youth in his teen getting into difficulty in the sea at Passage West.
They said: “Following an extensive search by Gardai, the Coast Guard, the Irish Naval Service and local fire and ambulance units, a body was recovered from the water at approximately 4pm."
Victor Shine of City Fire Brigade said at 2pm they got a call of a person being in difficulty in the sea at Passage West.
He said: “On arrival the person had gone below the surface and was presumed drowned. We went into recovery phase and had divers entering the water and different services in boats all working to find the boy's body and return it to shore.
“This young lad was swimming with friends and apparently got into difficulty. One of his friends went to rescue him but unfortunately he went under before he could be saved.
“There was an outgoing tide running at two or three knots but the sea is flat and conditions were sunny.
“This is a tragic accident. The boys would have been going back to school next week and were obviously enjoying the last few days of the holidays.
"We have recovered the boy thankfully and can return him back to his family.
“Unfortunately it was a tragic outcome and the family need as much support as they can get. The boys who were with the victim will also need support from family and their friends.
“Putting closure to this was important and we wanted to ensure that the boy was recovered as quickly as possible to try to minimise the trauma for his family by giving them their child back."
TRIBUTES PAID
His friends described him as full of fun and very popular. Tributes were paid to him on social media.
Local County Councillor Marcella Dalton said the area was in shock as a big number of emergency vehicles arrived at the Pontoon area.
She said: “Everyone is devastated. This is a popular swimming area and you see droves of young people getting off the bus and heading to the area to swim.
“This is a close knit community and there is a deep sense of sadness hanging over us like a cloud.
“Everyone is thinking of the family who received such terrible news and we are praying for them.
“The emergency services were stunningly efficient and were so quickly on the scene. They did everything they could to locate the boy so that he could be returned to his family.”
Local Councillor Marcia D'Alton, who was at the scene, said the incident was "a terrible, terrible tragedy".
She told : "People are in shock, it's such a lovely day today, there's a good few people out and about and this was a place that's very popular with young people.
"I was told that the boy who went missing was not really able to swim and he had been staying out of the water while his friends swam.
"It's just a terrible, terrible accident, I know everybody around Passage will be thinking of his family, it's so awful for them."
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Praising the extensive search, Cllr D'Alton said: "People had been hoping they would find him quickly, but he just went so fast away from his friends, he just went so far away from them so fast, they couldn't do anything."
The teenagers body was taken to Cork University Hospital where a postmortem will be completed tomorrow.
