THE BODIES of two teenagers were recovered from rivers in Northern Ireland at the weekend.
The body of 14-year-old James Elliott was taken from the river Bush on Saturday afternoon, as a search entered its third day.
The boy was swept away in the river on Thursday as he tried to rescue his pet Labrador. His policeman father, Clive, and another teenager were pulled alive from the river, with the dog.
They had been walking along the riverbank in the village of Stranocum, Co Antrim, when James jumped in to save his Labrador who got into trouble.
Meanwhile, the body of a man in his late teens was recovered from the river Bann at Portadown, at around 1pm on Saturday. Emergency services were involved in a three-hour search after he was seen entering the water near Derrycarne Road just before 10am. Early indications were that it was an accident.
In a third incident, police officers swam into Belfast Lough late on Friday night to rescue a 17-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man. The two part-time officers were praised for bravery after swimming into Belfast Lough, at Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, at about 11pm on Friday night, to rescue the young man and girl.
They swam out more than 4.5m (15ft) from the shore and pulled the pair to safety. A police spokeswoman said they wanted to remind the public of “the significant dangers posed by rivers and waterways, especially in the aftermath of heavy rainfall”.
A search was under way in Limerick city yesterday for a 17-year-old girl who fell into the river Shannon. Gardaí and members of Limerick Marine Search and Rescue were alerted at about 2.30pm after the girl was seen near the river at Arthur’s Quay.