Body of man in his 50s recovered from sea off East Cork

The body of a man in his 50s has been recovered from the water off the coast of East Cork following a multi-agency search on Tuesday morning.

At approximately 7.20am, the Castletownbere RNLI lifeboat was tasked by the Irish Coast Guard following a report from a member of the public that a vessel had got into trouble at sea off the coast of Blackball Head.

A spokesperson for the Irish Coast Guard Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre in Valentia told The Echo that a search was undertaken by the lifeboat, with assistance from a Coast Guard helicopter from Shannon and several local fishing boats.

At approximately 8.20am, the body of a man in his 50s was discovered in the water.

It is understood that the man, who is believed to be a local, was fishing in the area before the alarm was raised.

A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána confirmed that gardaí in Castletownbere also assisted the Coast Guard in recovering the man’s remains from the water.

The spokesperson said the man’s body has since been removed to the mortuary at Cork University Hospital.

The coroner for West Cork has been notified and an inquest into the man's death will take place in due course.

“Investigations are ongoing,” the garda spokesperson said.