'Extremely challenging' conditions for lifeboat crew at Wexford car-crash scene
Debris from two rainwater-swelled rivers, gale-force winds and a sea swell all complicated the efforts of a lifeboat crew after a car crashed into the sea at Courtown Harbour in Co Wexford last night.
A 19-year-old teenager died in the incident.
The car he and two other teens were in crashed through a wall and into the sea at around 10.30pm last night.
The two other teenage boys, who are 16 and 19, managed to escape and swim to safety.
The victim's body was recovered from the submerged car. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Áine Stafford of the Courtown RNLI said "extremely challenging" conditions at the harbour made the situation difficult for rescuers.
"There are two rivers entering Courtown Harbour. With the amount of rain we've had in the last 48 hours, there was a lot of debris being washed down the two rivers," she said.
"Winds were gale force too, so there was a big run on the sea coming into the harbour…Conditions were very hard for the lifeboat crew working in the water last night."
