VIDEO: Search resumes for man whose girlfriend and father died in freak sea accident
A search operation has resumed in West Cork for a man missing since a freak accident killed his father and girlfriend.
Search crews returned to the scene to look for the missing man at 5.30am today.
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He was one of the group of three who went into the water in Baltimore shortly after 6.30pm. Rescuers believe that two in the group may have been swept into the water initially and that a third may have entered the water in a desperate bid to save them.
The woman and the older man were recovered from the sea about 30 yards off shore but were later pronounced dead.
The dead man, named locally as Barry Ryan, was in his 50s and believed to be from Dublin but living in the area with his partner for some time. The woman was locally named as Niamh O’Connor, in her 20s and from Cork City. Her boyfriend and Barry Ryan's son was named locally as Barry Davis Ryan.
The three got into difficulty on rocks near the landmark Beacon at the mouth of Baltimore harbour at around 6.30pm.
The Irish Examiner's Eoin English reports today that the man’s teenage daughter, who saw the tragedy unfold and raised the alarm, was being comforted by family last night.
It is believed the group of four was walking on rocks in an inlet near the Beacon structure — in an area known locally as Eastern Hole — when tragedy struck.
Teams from Baltimore, Schull and Toe Head are all involved in the search operation, and local divers are in the water, while navy divers will be on the scene through the morning.
