TWO MEN found dead after a boating tragedy off the coast of Ireland are believed to be from Lithuania.
Their bodies were recovered from the waters off Malinbeg at Glencolmcille in Co. Donegal yesterday afternoon.
A local farmer alerted the coast guard when he came across one of the bodies on a beach near Glencolmcille.
The second body was found a short time later in the water by a helicopter and was retrieved by emergency services.
Killybegs Coast Guard wrote on Facebook last night: “Rescue 118 from Sligo was on scene and soon located the second missing person which Bundoran RNLI recovered and transferred to the emergency services at Teelin pier.”
They added that “the wreckage of a five meter rib was found close by, and a second person was reported missing.
“Killybegs Coast Guard would like to send their condolences to the family of the deceased.”
The Irish Coast Guard’s John Draper said that both men were Lithuanian nationals and got into difficulty after going out fishing.
“Conditions when they went out fishing at about 1pm weren’t too bad, they were quite good,” he told Newstalk.
“So we’re not too sure what actually occurred or how they ended up in the water obviously but some sort of incident occurred.”
He added: “Possibly conditions worsened locally, got sort of rough, but in any event it seems they were both thrown into the water.”
After the bodies were recovered from the water they were transferred to Letterkenny University Hospital where post-mortem examinations will be carried out today.
