Irish tourist dies after late-night swim in Australia
The 21-year-old man died after going for a late-night swim last Saturday at a holiday resort renowned for its hot baths.
Police in New South Wales said the victim and two friends had spent several hours drinking before the tragedy in a nearby hotel in the small resort of Burren Junction about 600km north-west of Sydney.
The name of the dead man will not be formally released until after an official autopsy is carried out later this morning.
However, members of his family are understood to be travelling to Australia.
Local police said the dead man and two friends, one of whom is Irish, decided to go for a swim in the natural, open-air, hot mineralised bore baths which are open on a 24-hour basis.
His friends told investigating officers that he had disappeared when they were getting out of the water and they later found him at the bottom of the bore.
"It looks like he passed out and slipped underwater," said one police officer based at the nearby station of Walgett. The natural baths are only 6ft deep. However, local police said a stark difference in temperature between the night air and the baths could have been a contributory factor.
It is understood the dead man was working on a farm in the nearby town of Collarenebri, while travelling around Australia on a short holiday visa.
Meanwhile, the funeral will take place later this week of Irish model, Patricia Sheehan. The 21-year-old fell to her death from a balcony in Tokyo, where she was working.
Her family want her buried in her native Enniscorthy, despite their being based in London. Ms Sheehan first shot to prominence on Channel 4's Model Behaviour and went on to feature in magazines such as Cosmopolitan. She is survived by her father, Terry, from Old Church, Enniscorthy, and younger sisters, Aoife, Fiona and Sinead.
