Two people have died in a dreadful double drowning incident in Ballybunion this Thursday evening.
The body of a male, believed to be in his early 50s, was recovered from the water on the Men’s Beach shortly before 6.30pm and the body of a woman, aged in her 40s, was found just minutes later.
It is reported that neither of the victims were local but they had been staying in the locality. Initial reports have suggested that they may have been brother and sister but that has not been officially confirmed.
The alarm was raised when a young man on the beach spotted the man’s body at the edge of the water. It is believed that both the man and the woman got into difficulty when swimming together.
Emergency services personnel rushed to the scene and volunteers from the Ballybunion Sea and Cliff Rescue Service, Kilrush RNLI Lifeboat and the Irish Coast Guard Rescue 115 from Shannon were involved.
The community air ambulance was also tasked to the scene in an operation overseen by the Valentia based Marine Rescue Coordination Centre.
Efforts to resuscitate both the man and the woman proved unsuccessful and they were pronounced dead at the scene by a local doctor.
The bodies of the man and the woman have been brought to University Hospital Kerry where post mortem examinations will be conducted and a garda investigation will be initiated.
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