Friends pay tribute to teenager drowned in Drogheda reservoir

Boy (13) was swimming with friends at Rose Hall when he got into difficulty this afternoon

Friends of a teenagers have paid tribute online to their friend who drowned in what the Irish Coastguard said was a, "a tragic accident" at a reservoir in Co Louth.

The 13-year-old boy is believed to have gone to the Rose Hall reservoir to swim with friends because of the hot weather.

A number of the youngsters went into the lake but after a few minutes he got into difficulty and despite efforts by his friends, they were unable to rescue him.

The Irish Coastguard was alerted at about 3.34pm and its Drogheda unit attended along with divers from the Boyne Fishermen's Rescue and Recovery Service (BFRRS). Two divers from the BFRRS recovered the body at 5.10pm.

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Dermot McConnoran, officer in charge of the Irish Coastguard’s Drogheda unit said: “We saw one life-buoy and it was on the far side of the water. We would like to see them every 10 to 20 metres at reservoirs, lakes and other inland waterways. Unfortunately there was only one on this occasion.”

Both the Irish Coastguard and the BFRRS said that the water become suddenly very deep at the reservoir and goes from a depth of a few centimetres to between six to 10 metres.

The young man’s body was recovered in about 9 metres of water, approximately 9 metres from the shore.

Efforts were made by his friend to save him - at one point they all held hands as they struggled to reach him and get him ashore.

His Facebook page has been quickly filling with memories and tributes from his friends this evening.

His body was removed to the morgue at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and a post mortem will be carried out tomorrow.

Gardaí said a file will be prepared for the coroner and an inquest will be held later this year.

John Leech of Irish Water Safety has reiterated advice to those swimming in the hot weather. He said people should stay within their depth, if there is no lifeguarded waterway nearby then swim at a recognised, traditional bathing area, use local knowledge to determine local hazards and safest areas to swim, ensure ringbuoys are present and make sure that the edges are shallow-shelving so that you can safely and easily enter and exit the water.