Fears grow for boy swept into sea

A major air and sea search was mounted in the Irish Sea today after a 14 year old boy was swept into the water.

He was with another boy of the same age on rocks at Killough, Co Down, south of the entrance to Strangford Lough, when they were washed into the sea by waves.

Coastguards said local people managed to drag one of the boys to safety and he was taken to hospital for treatment.

The Coastguard spokesman up the coast in Bangor, Co Down, said two lifeboats, a Coastguard helicopter from Dublin and four coastguard teams were searching for the missing teenager.

“He was last seen in the water near the entrance to the inner harbour,” said the spokesman.

Dozens of local people lined the shore in a bid to find the boy.

As darkness fell the search continued with the helicopter using infra-red thermal-imaging equipment in an effort to spot the boy.

Coastguards said weather conditions were poor with winds of Force 5-6, high seas and a gale warning in force for later.