Man and boy drown in disused quarry
A man and teenage boy have drowned in a disused quarry in Northern Ireland.
It is understood the man jumped into the water at the isolated quarry in rural Co Down in a bid to save the youth, but both died.
The incident at Paul's Quarry on the outskirts of the seaside village of Annalong happened late on Saturday afternoon.
The tragedy is believed to have unfolded when the boy got into trouble while swimming in the deep waters of the steep-sided quarry and a friend ran to raise the alarm.
The man responded and jumped in in an attempt to rescue him.
Emergency crews have been involved in an operation to recover the bodies from the former granite quarry.
The water hole near the Glassdrumman Road is popular with young people wanting to swim on hot days.
The wider Annalong area has been hit by a series of tragedies in recent years, including the deaths of three men in a light aircraft crash four years ago and the loss of three family members in the sinking of a fishing boat in 2002.
South Down Assembly member Jim Wells expressed his condolences.
"This area has suffered many tragedies over the last number of years and this is another dreadful event that will shock the entire community," said the Democratic Unionist representative. "I would hope there will be a full investigation to establish what happened - we need to improve safety in these sort of situations."
