Father and son drown in 'heartbreaking' Donegal fishing tragedy
A father and son have drowned after a family day out turned to tragedy in Co. Donegal.
The pair died after they had gone on a family day out on Lough Keel, between Kilmacrennan and Golan this afternoon.
It is understood the family had been fishing in the lough.
Details of the exact cause of the tragedy are unconfirmed but it understood one of the men fell into the water and a second went in to try and assist him.
The men who died are a father and son but are not believed to be from Ireland. It is understood that they may have a holiday home in the area.
Members of Irish Water who were working in the area heard cries for help shortly after 2.45pm and made an emergency call.
Malin Head Coastguard received the emergency call just before 3pm and scrambled the local emergency services.
Members of the Rescue 118 helicopter were dispatched from their base in Sligo while the Mulroy Coastguard also arrived on the scene supported by gardaí and ambulance personnel.
Specialist divers from Sheephaven Sub-Aqua Unit were also brought in to search the area.
The body of the first victim was recovered early in the search.
However, it took another couple of hours to locate the second body which was recovered after 6pm by the divers.
Medical personnel, including a doctor, were also drafted in and both victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
Their remains were removed to Letterkenny University Hospital where post mortems are expected to be carried out.
Members of the Gardaí could be seen removing two fishing rods from the scene later in the evening.
A member of the rescue services described the scene as simply “heartbreaking”.
“To look at the young lad who survived would break your heart. He looked like he was only in his early teens and he was just heartbroken and distraught.
“This was a family who just went out for a day’s fishing and then this happened. It just shows how fickle life can be.
“It was good to be able to recover the remains so quickly but that’s no consolation to the young lad who has lost his father and brother,” he said.
A full investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy has commenced.
Local county councillor Ian McGarvey said safety around water particularly as the weather gets warmer cannot be emphasised enough.
“I don’t know the exact circumstances of what happened to this poor family but you just can’t be too careful around water.
“My sympathy goes out to this poor family after what has happened to them,” he said.
