BANK HOLIDAY ROAD DEATHS:A 19-YEAR-OLD student from Achill Island was drowned early yesterday after the van he was driving went off the road and plunged more than 150ft down a cliff into the Atlantic near a well-known beauty spot on Achill.
Nigel McNamara was the youngest member of a family of eight from Pollagh, Keel, Achill.
The van left the road on a stretch of mountain road leading to Keem Bay in the west of the island. There are no protective barriers on this stretch of the road.
A number of witnesses, who were driving in the area, raised the alarm when they reported seeing a car going over the cliff.
An air and sea search got under way at first light and the van was located in 12.2 metres of water at about 7am.
Sub-aqua divers recovered the body from the vehicle at 9.10am. The remains were taken ashore at Purteen Harbour some miles away.
They were taken by a funeral director to Mayo General Hospital about 50 miles away where a postmortem was to be carried out later.
Gardaí, under the supervision of Supt Michael Murray, are carrying out a full investigation.
Supt Murray said last night they were keeping “an open mind” on the incident and he appealed for any witnesses to come forward.
The young man who died is a son of John “Taxi” McNamara, a local boatman, and his wife, Patricia. Nigel was the youngest of a family of eight – four boys and four girls.
It is understood the youth had been with friends on the island before the incident.
The McNamara family were being comforted by relatives, friends and neighbours at their home yesterday.
Gardaí, civilians, the Achill lifeboat and Coast Guard rescue units, as well as the Sligo-based Coast Guard helicopter, were involved in the search for the missing youth before the submerged van was discovered.