Man, 19, drowns while swimming with friends

An autopsy was carried out yesterday on the body of a 19-year-old man who drowned while swimming with friends in the River Blackwater in Mallow, Co Cork.

Gary Fleming was swimming in an area known as the Bullworks when he got into difficulty at about 5pm on Saturday.

Mallow Search and Rescue Unit (MSRU), assisted by Mallow Fire Brigade, local gardaí, and the coastguard helicopter, launched a search operation after the alarm was raised.The man’s body was recovered an hour later.

MSRU chairman John Woulfe said he was saddened by the loss of life on a glorious sunny day in the area.

“It was heartbreaking. It was only a couple of lads in for a swim. It is a dangerous place but they probably didn’t realise it.”

Parish priest Canon Gerard Casey said he had spoken to the understandably shocked family of the late Gary Fleming. He paid tribute to MSRU for the speed in which they recovered the body of the teenager.

“Thank God that they found him. It is a terrible tragedy. It was just a few friends out on a lovely summer’s evening. Our sympathy is with the family. He is a local boy.”

The Bullworks is a popular bathing area in the town and has been used by youngsters for generations.

Meanwhile, Gardaí in Bantry, Co Cork, have suspended questioning of a man in his 70s who was arrested following the discovery of the body of a man in the town.

The man who was being questioned is now being treated in hospital.

Deputy state pathologist Dr Michael Curtis, has completed an autopsy on the body, but gardaí say they are not releasing preliminary results for operational reasons.

It is understood the 53-year-old victim died after a row involving at least two men.

He is believed to have been an English national who had been living in West Cork for over a decade.