Father and son drown during family fishing trip in Co Donegal

A father and son have drowned after a family day out turned to tragedy in Co Donegal.

The pair died after they had gone fishing at Lough Keel, between Kilmacrennan and Golan, on Thursday afternoon.

The family had been fishing on the lake, it is understood.

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. A third member of the family survived.

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The men who died are not believed to be from Ireland. It is understood that they may have a holiday home in the area.

Employees of Irish Water who were working in the area heard cries for help from the lake shortly after 2.45pm and made an emergency call.

Malin Head Coastguard 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.

The body of the first victim was recovered early in the search.

However, it took another couple of hours for divers to locate the second body which was recovered after 6pm.

Both were pronounced dead at the scene and their remains were removed to Letterkenny University Hospital where post mortems are expected to be carried out.

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 “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,” he said.

Gardaí in a statement said: “One teenage boy was rescued from the lough and taken to Letterkenny University Hospital where he is receiving treatment.

“Two male bodies (one aged in his 40s and one teenager) were recovered from the Lough this evening and have been removed to Letterkenny University Hospital where post-mortems are expected to take place tomorrow (Thursday)”.

A full investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy has begun.