Waterford drowning victim named as 21-year-old Cian Nugent
Swimming A At Were Who Bay, From Among 3km Nugent Of Whiting Was Some Cian Ardmore Five Group
A Waterford student died after getting into difficulty while swimming in west Waterford on Friday afternoon.
The victim was last night named locally as Cian Nugent (21), a UCC engineering student from Old Parish in the Waterford Gaeltacht.
Mr Nugent, from a farming background, was among a group of five who were swimming at Whiting Bay, some 3km from Ardmore.
The tragedy occurred at around 2pm, when three of the group got into difficulties. Mr Nugent failed to make it out of the water.
Emergency services, including Coast Guard rescue helicopter 117, Youghal RNLI, gardaí, and fire crews rushed to the scene.
Mr Nugent was quickly located but efforts to resuscitate him proved unsuccessful.
He was airlifted to Cork University Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
One of several small inlets in the area, Whiting Bay is a kilometre-long, sandy beach popular with walkers and summer visitors wishing to avoid the busier strand at Ardmore.
However, it is known to be susceptible to high winds and is also frequented by surfers due to sometimes high waves.
The tragedy occurred two hours after high tide amid dry but breezy conditions.
A spokesperson for UCC said: “UCC would like to extend its deepest sympathies to the family of Cian Nugent. UCC will support his family, friends, and classmates at this difficult time.”
Local Waterford county councillor Séamus O’Donnell said: "The entire parish is in total shock. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the poor lad at this time."