Men who died in plane crash near Mount Leinster named

Two men from Co Meath have been killed after a light aircraft crashed on the border between Wexford and Carlow on Sunday.

The men, who have been named locally as Bryan Keane (69) and Paul Smith (58) both died instantly as a result of the crash, which occurred before 2.40pm on Sunday.

The two men, along with their two dogs, left Athboy Aerodrome in the afternoon in a Cessna 172. Weather conditions en route were reported to have been perfect.

A hillwalker reported the incident to gardaí. It is unclear if the hillwalker witnessed the crash.

The crash happened at Blackstairs Commons near Mount Leinster, an area gardaí have described as "hilly and remote".

The salvage operation is being run out of the GAA clubhouse in Kiltealy. There is no access to the crash site by road.

Both bodies remained at the scene on Sunday night. The scene was being preserved for technical examination.

The Air Accident Investigation Unit was in attendance.

The Waterford-based helicopter, Rescue 117, was brought in to search for the aircraft and members of the South East Mountain Rescue Association also attended.