A YOUNG MAN has lost his life after getting into difficulty while swimming in a river in Limerick city centre.
The swimmer, aged in his 20s, entered the Abbey River near Baal's Bridge by the Absolute Hotel shortly after 1pm on Monday afternoon.
The alarm was raised at around 2pm by a second man who had also been swimming in the area and who managed to make it ashore.
A major search and rescue operation was launched involving Limerick Marine Search and Rescue volunteers, the Limerick Land Search Team and the Shannon-based Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115.
But tragically, the man's body was recovered from the River Shannon near Sarsfield House located close to Arthur's Quay several hours later at around 6pm.
Calvin Prendergast, chairman of Limerick Land Search Team, said: "Our shoreline team responded to the call and on arrival on scene our colleagues from Limerick Marine Search And Rescue Service had launched their rescue boat and made a recovery in the water. Our shoreline team assisted in the recovery operation onto the shore."
The man's body was removed from the scene by hearse to the mortuary at University Hospital Limerick (UHL), where a post-mortem was due to be carried out.
Gardaí have contacted the family of the deceased and will prepare a file for the Limerick City Coroner's Office.
It's understood Gardaí are treating the man's death as a tragic accident.
