LAST UPDATE | 1 Jun 2023

A 19-YEAR-OLD LIMERICK man who died yesterday evening after a jet ski accident on Lough Derg has been named locally as Wassiou Ayawe.

Late yesterday afternoon, the Irish Coast Guard was alerted to an incident in which a jet ski had gotten into difficulty in the area between Ballina, Co Tipperary and Killaloe, Co Clare. 

Two people involved in the incident made their way to shore.

After a search and rescue operation was coordinated between Valentia Coast Guard, Killaloe Search and Recovery Team, gardaí and the National Ambulance Service, Wassiou’s body was recovered.

His body was subsequently removed to the mortuary at University Hospital Limerick for a postmortem examination.

Wassiou was an aspiring underage footballer with Limerick FC.

Limerick City North councillor Tom Collopy offered his condolences and described Wassiou as “an exceptional talent”.

“The death of someone so young is a tragedy. It’s unfortunate, the circumstances in which he died.”

“It’s a tragedy for all concerned, for his family, his friends and his club.”

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland today, Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council Tony O’Brien said that yesterday’s event was a “very tragic accident”.

“A young man and his friends were out enjoying themselves on the water and an incident occurred.”

“Something happened with the jet ski, and the young man was thrown off of it, as were his friends. And he lost his life, unfortunately.”

O’Brien added that two young women were also on the jet ski at the time of the accident.

“It cast a very dark shadow over the community yesterday evening when news got around that a young person had lost their lives because it is a very popular place for young people to gather,” he said.

The incident took place just south of a bridge between Ballina and Killaloe.

“It’s a very busy time for people going out and it gets very popular, the weather yesterday evening was absolutely gorgeous.”

“I would say to everybody who’s thinking of going on the water to remember that you must respect it. Because when the water turns back on you, it can be very, very tragic as we saw yesterday evening.”

Gardaí are currently treating the matter as a tragic accident.