News of the tragedy which has claimed the lives of six Irish people and left a number of others seriously injured first emerged when the Berkeley Police Department received an emergency call at 12.41am local time (8.41am Irish time).

Police began to sift through the financial assets of John and Anne Darwin today to recover the money the couple defrauded in their £250,000 (€317,976) canoe death scam.

POLICE were last night awaiting the return of the wife of back-from-the-dead canoeist John Darwin as they continued to question him over his disappearance five-and-a-half years ago.

Police are tonight awaiting the return of the wife of back-from-the-dead canoeist John Darwin as they continued to question him over his disappearance five-and-a-half years ago.