Soldier in hospital after canoe tragedy

An off-duty soldier was today recovering after a canoeing tragedy which claimed the life of a colleague.

The soldiers, who were from Lisburn barracks, got into trouble when their canoe capsized in Murlough Bay, off the Co Down coast near the seaside resort of Newcastle, yesterday.

A third soldier took 40 minutes to swim to shore and had to run a further two miles to raise the alarm.

The Coastguard in Belfast and Newcastle had to deal with strong winds and hazardous weather conditions as a rescue bid was launched.

Lifeboats and a helicopter located the men and managed to winch one of them to safety.

The crew of the Newcastle lifeboat recovered his colleague and they were both taken to Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry, where one of them died.

The name of the soldier has not yet been released.

The condition of his colleague was described as “ill but stable”.