Police have urged the public to be vigilant when using Northern Ireland’s waterways after two boys were drowned.
As the body of a 14-year-old boy swept away in a flooded river in Co Antrim was Recovered yesterday, emergency services pulled another child’s body from the River Bann in Co Armagh.
In yet another incident, police officers swam into Belfast Lough on Friday night to rescue a 17-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man.
A PSNI spokeswoman issued a warning in the aftermath of the three separate incidents.
“Police would remind the public of the significant dangers posed by rivers and waterways especially in the aftermath of heavy rainfall,” she said. “Swollen rivers can often be deceptive in terms of their depth, and the force with which currents flow within them can prove fatal even for experienced swimmers.”
The body of 14-year-old James Elliott was finally recovered from the River Bush yesterday afternoon, as a search effort entered its third day. He was swept away in the river on Thursday as he tried to rescue his pet Labrador which jumped into the water near the village of Stranocum in Co Antrim.
His policeman father Clive and another teenager were pulled alive from the river - as was the dog - after jumping in to try to save James.
Police divers, Bann River Rescue, Coastguards, Royal Navy, RAF and Fire Service teams were all engaged in the search operation.
The boy was a pupil at Dalriada High School where he played for the school team - having already won international recognition as a Northern Ireland under-13 player.
Meanwhile, the body of a man believed to be in his late teens was recovered from the River Bann at Portadown, at about 1pm yesterday.
Emergency services were involved in a three-hour search after he was seen entering the water near Derrycarne Road just before 10am.
A postmortem examination is to be carried out to help determine the cause of death, but early indications suggest there were no suspicious circumstances.
Separately, two part-time police officers were praised for their bravery after swimming into Belfast Lough, at Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, at around 11pm last night, to rescue the young man and girl.
They swam out more than 15 feet from the shore, while carrying life buoys, and managed to pull the pair to safety.