Man's body found off Achill Island

Sea rescue teams searching for a Finnish student who fell off a cliff in Co Mayo have found a body.

Sea rescue teams searching for a Finnish student who fell off a cliff in Co Mayo have found a body.

Efforts are being made to recover it, but rough weather is making it too dangerous for a helicopter to deploy a winch.

"A body has been located but we haven't been able to recover it yet because the weather has been so rough," a Malin Head Coast Guard spokesman said.

"There's quite a swell in the area the body's been found. It's in close to the land and jagged rocks, and the helicopter is able to get over it, but it's too rough to deploy the winch man." He said rescuers were hoping conditions would improve today.

The 22-year-old student fell from Cloughmore on Achill Island yesterday. He is believed to have been visiting the area when he slipped and fell down a sheer cliff face.

The Achill lifeboat, Coast Guard vessel and Sligo-based Coast Guard helicopter were at the scene shortly after a friend of the victim raised the alarm.

PA