TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN has expressed deep sadness at the loss of one its students who died after falling from a cliff in Co Clare on Friday.

The 26-year-old Indian national died after he lost his footing while taking photographs at the Cliffs of Moher.

The Indian Embassy in Dublin is working to repatriate the victim’s body back to his home country while staff at TCD are providing support to the victim’s family, friends and fellow students as well as their own staff.

Gardaí, who have been working closely with the Indian Embassy as well as staff at TCD since the accident, have confirmed that the victim has been formally identified and his family informed. The man’s name has not been released.

A representative of the Indian Embassy is understood to have visited Co Clare yesterday and travelled to the scene of the tragedy.

The alarm was raised at around 3.15pm on Friday when a man was seen falling from the cliff. Eyewitnesses are understood to have told gardaí that the man was taking a selfie at the time and lost his footing.

The man’s body was recovered from the sea by the crew of Rescue 115 and flown to Doolin Coast Guard station.

The victim was formally pronounced dead before his remains were removed to University Hospital Limerick for formal identification and a post-mortem examination.

‘Deeply saddened’ 

Gardaí interviewed a number of eyewitnesses following tragedy and have confirmed that, at this stage, they are treating the death as a tragic accident.

A garda spokesperson said: “A post-mortem examination has been carried out while we have been working closely with the Indian Embassy and Trinity College. The man has been identified and his family in India has been notified.”

In a statement released today, a spokesperson for TCD said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of one of our students at the Cliffs of Moher on Friday afternoon.

We are doing all we can to provide support to them following the shocking news of the accidental death of their son.

“We are also reaching out to his fellow students, friends and staff here at Trinity supporting them during this distressing time. We are working closely with the Indian Embassy and An Garda Síochána in doing so.”