The body of a third teenager who went missing at a beach in Co Sligo was recovered from the sea yesterday as local people took part in a massive search operation.
The discovery of the body of Tommy Coyle (18) from Mullagh roe, Gurteen, was made in the Strandhill area, within 200 yards of where the bodies of his two friends were found.
The three youths, who were non-swimmers, drowned after wading in the sea on Sunday afternoon. They are expected to be buried tomorrow at three separate funerals.
A fourth youth, Lawrence Cooke (18) from Gurteen, is still in a "critical but stable" condition at Sligo General Hospital. He has been on a life-support machine since he was rescued from the sea by a local surfer.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that no lifeguards were on duty at any beaches in the State over the weekend, during which crowds flocked to the coast to enjoy the hot weather. Local authorities do not hire lifeguards until June, regardless of weather conditions.
Early yesterday, the bodies of Michael Higgins (17) from the village of Culfadda, near Ballymoate, and Bobby Taylor (16) from Gurteen, were discovered close to the beach from where they had gone missing at 5.30 p.m. on Sunday.
During the day, more than 100 people, including many residents of Gurteen, joined the search at Strandhill for Tommy Coyle. Their worst fears were confirmed when his body was taken from the water at about 3.30 p.m.
The discovery was made by members of a Donegal sub-aqua club and his body was transported by the Bundoran lifeboat to Ros ses Point. It was taken to Sligo General Hospital, where the postmortems on the other two bodies were being carried out.
The tragedy has stirred up controversy over the safety measures taken by Sligo County Council at Strandhill.
Insurers told the council three years ago that they would no longer indemnify lifeguards on Strandhill beach because of the dangers involved.
The Minister with responsibility for water safety, Mr Bobby Molloy, said yesterday he was ordering an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the swimming tragedy at the Co Sligo beach and would take whatever action was required.
Expressing sympathy for the bereaved families, Mr Molloy said he wanted the National Safety Council to establish quickly precisely how the accident happened. "Because of my responsibility for the work of the National Saf ety Council, I will be arranging for a report on what happened and the background to the local authority's position," Mr Molloy said.
Strandhill beach was surveyed by the National Safety Council on behalf of Sligo County Council in 1992. At that point, the council reported that while some areas of the beach could be used for bathing, others were out of bounds.
However, in 1995, another report by the council stated that Strand hill beach, in its entirety, was unsafe for bathing.
The council took the view at that point that if the lifeguard service was to be continued, an inference could be drawn that the beach could be used for bathing.
Mr Molloy confirmed that the council's insurers subsequently advised the local authority that it would be in dereliction of its duty to employees - lifeguards - if it was to deploy them at Strandhill beach.
The insurers said they could not provide insurance cover for these employees. Having consulted their legal advisers, the council decided to withdraw lifeguard services from the beach.
The council erected notices warning that the beach was unsafe for bathing and that there was no lifeguard present.
The Minister said lifeguards would only have been employed from the June bank holiday weekend.