THE BODY of an Irishman who went missing during a water sports accident in Ecuador has been found following a search near the Abanico river.
26-year-old David Higgins from Co. Kerry went missing on Saturday afternoon after his kayak became caught in a strong current on the river near the Sangay national park.
Mr Higgins was kayaking with four other men, including fellow Irishman, 19-year-old Alex McGourty from Sligo who was found dead shortly after the incident.
Among the rest of the group, US citizen Jeremiah Stewart was rescued on Saturday while Ecuadorian kayaker Joaquin Meneses was discovered alive on Monday.
Last night, the Morona Santiago local government announced that the body of Mr Higgins had been found at 5 pm local time on the bans of the Upano river, about 30km south of the Abanico river.
Englishman Adam Vaughen is still missing.
Tributes have been paid to Alex McGourty following the news of his death.
19 year old Alex McGourty who died in the incident. (Picture: Twitter)Sligo Kayak Club posted that it was with “profound sadness we announce the passing of club member and trainee-instructor Alex McGourty. Alex tragically died while fulfilling his dreams. Kayaking in Ecuador.”
The club offered its condolences to Mr McGourty’s parents, Frankie and Eilish, and described their son as “one of the finest young men we had the honour of knowing and padding with.”
Alex McGourty had posted last week on his Instagram account that he and the group had hiked six hours in the jungle into the “hidden upper Abanico” to go kayaking.
He had spent two months kayaking in Nepal in late 2017 before returning to Ireland for Christmas and then travelling to Ecuador.
