Young boy's drowning a tragic accident, say gardaí

Gardaí are treating death of a young boy in a Co Clare river as a tragic accident.

The five-year-old is thought to have fallen into the River Fergus near the Aughanterroe housing estate in Ennis at around 5.15pm evening.

A widespread search was carried out involving gardaí, Fire Brigade and Civil Defence personnel, who were assisted by a Coastguard Helicopter.

The boy was found shortly after 6pm and rushed to Ennis General Hospital, but failed to respond to resuscitation efforts, and was pronounced dead shortly after 8pm.