Teenage boy drowns while swimming in Cork river

A post mortem is to be carried out today on the body of a 14-year-old boy who drowned in the Co Cork town of Fermoy yesterday.

Martin Duggan, from Emmet Street in the town, was swimming with his friends in the River Blackwater when he got into difficulty and drowned just after 5pm.

The incident happened at Barnane, near Fermoy Rowing Club, in a part of the river not usually known as a swimming spot.

His friends immediately raised the alarm and members of the gardai and civil defence mounted a massive search operation, along with more than 50 locals.

Divers from the Blackwater Search and Rescue Unit also joined in the search and the teenager's body was located just before 8pm less than 10 feet from where he was seen going under.

A post mortem examination will be carried out on his body at Cork University Hospital today.