Families ‘heartbroken’ after two men die in car swept away in Ireland

ireland

The families of two men who died after their Jeep was swept away in a river on Christmas Day have said they are heartbroken. Declan Davitt, 26, and Martin Needham, 27, were in the 4×4 when it fell into the Carrowniskey river in County Mayo, west Ireland, in the early hours of the morning.  The vehicle soon became fully submerged in the water and was carried downstream amid gale force winds and high water levels. It has been reported that the vehicle was crossing a stretch of water used locally as a shortcut by tractors and four-wheel drives. The men were returning from a night out socialising with friends. However, the crossing was more dangerous than usual because of the bad weather, which swelled the stretch of water, and the vehicle became caught in the tide. It entered the water near Louisburgh, close to the Mayo Atlantic coastline, at around 2.30am on Monday. Another man, 19, managed to escape and reach land, where he raised the alarm and alerted emergency services at about 3am.(theguardian)…[+]