Boy becomes third drowning victim in 2 days

A 10-year-old boy drowned yesterday while swimming with his brother in Youghal, East Cork.

Kyle Roche was with his nine-year-old brother, Dean, in a rock-enclosed enclave between Moll Goggin’s Corner and the promenade, when he got into difficulties just before 5pm.

Witnesses say Kyle was swept past the rocks towards the mouth of Youghal Bay. Several times the boy disappeared from view.

At 5pm the Coast Guard co-ordination centre got a 999 call that a person was drowning. It tasked Youghal RNLI and Youghal Coast Guard unit who were on the scene at 5.30pm. The Coast Guard helicopter was also tasked from Waterford.

A Youghal RNLI spokeswoman said: “With the tide coming in, two members of the public, including a nurse, who had swam out to the area where the casualty had disappeared were brought onboard the lifeboat. Several members of the public were assisting in the search along with a number of vessels which were in the area at the time. The lifeboat was alerted by the crew of a fishing vessel that they had located the casualty and brought him on board their boat.

“The lifeboat proceeded to the nearby vessel where both crew member Daragh Mathews and the nurse transferred and together began to administer CPR to the casualty. The lifeboat, meanwhile, escorted the boat to the pontoon at the new jetty in the area.”

She said the lifeboat was met at the shore by ambulance paramedics, a doctor, and first responders who worked on him there for over 30 minutes.

The Coast Guard helicopter arrived on scene and he was flown to Cork Airport with the medical team continuing their fight to save him throughout the journey. He was handed over to a HSE ambulance and taken to Cork University Hospital. His mother, Vivien, was rushed under Garda escort to be at his side, but he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Trevor Nangle of Community Radio Youghal was on the quayside when Kyle was winched to the rescue helicopter. He said the large crowd which had gathered fell silent before a number of people burst into tears.

Kyle was one of a family of four boys aged nine to 21. He and Dean had just finished their third year at Bun Scoil Mhuire.

Kyle’s death in the sea comes two days before the RNLI lifeboat was to provide a five hour-long open day in Youghal on water safety as part of the town’s Queen of the Sea weekend.

Three people have died in water-related accidents in the last 48 hours.

Youghal strand has been packed during the hot spell. Lifeguards were 100m from the scene of the tragedy. In recent days they had been urging bathers away from the dangerous area. There is no red flag at the spot and a warning sign has been missing in recent times.