An asylum-seeker yesterday injured himself and had to be "talked out" of a river near his guesthouse by gardai and rescue services after an altercation when he was asked to move to a different accommodation base nearby.
Gardai and two units of the Killarney fire brigade were called to the Killarney View House alongside the river Flesk near Killarney shortly before lunch yesterday.
Some 12 fire officers surrounded the Flesk bridge while gardai led by Det Sgt Dan Keane spoke with the man.
The man, a Kenyan national in his mid-20s, and one of around 16 asylum-seekers at the guesthouse, was being moved to a different hostel at Ross Road nearer the town when the altercation with a member of staff occurred.
The man had been having problems in the house and the Directorate for Asylum Support Services decided to move him. No decision has yet been made on his application, it is understood.
After an altercation, gardai were called and the man jumped over a hedge and into the river. He was standing in waist-deep water for between 40 and 45 minutes. He picked up a rock and inflicted a head injury on himself.
The man was eventually brought ashore and taken to Tralee General Hospital, where he was being treated yesterday.
Meanwhile, extra accommodation with facilities for 120 people is being prepared in Killarney to accommodate asylum-seekers by the directorate.