Trains delayed after body found on tracks

Trains were delayed for several hours on two commuter lines running to the east of Cork City yesterday after a body was discovered near the railway tracks.

Emergency services were notified at around 9.30am that the body had been seen on mudflats in the estuary, close to Glounthaune railway station.

Iarnród Éireann cancelled services as emergency service recovery teams had to cross the railway line to retrieve the body.

As a result, trains on the Cork-Cobh and Cork-Midleton lines were cancelled for a couple of hours and Iarnród Éireann called in buses to transport passengers.

A garda spokesman said gardaí from Cobh discovered the body of a man in his 30s at the scene. It is thought his body may have been in the water for some time and had only recently washed up.

“At this stage we don’t see anything suspicious about the man’s death. But the body has been removed to the mortuary at Cork University Hospital where a postmortem will be carried out,” the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the Naval Service’s diving section recovered the body of a man in the Nore river, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, at around 12.30am yesterday.

The diving team was called in to help in the search for a man who was reported missing on January 18.