Gardaí hope to speak with two children rescued on Friday night to understand how the car they were in with a 44-year-old woman entered the River Lee.
Officers investigating the incident in Cork city, which resulted in the death of the woman, hope to uncover the sequence of events that led to the car ending up in the river.
Specialist Garda interviewers, trained to speak with children involved in traumatic events, hope to speak to the boys, aged 10 and 12, over the weekend if they are able, according to a report in The Irish Times.
Gardaí have also begun harvesting CCTV footage from the general docks area in the hope it may clarify events, and are checking CCTV footage from elsewhere around Cork city in the hope of tracing the car’s movements in the lead up to the tragedy.
They are also trying to confirm reports that the woman had earlier taken the children for a meal at a local McDonald’s.
Rescue
The children were in the car when it entered the river on Kennedy Quay on the southside of the Lee just before 9pm, but it is understood they managed to exit the vehicle and were rescued by witnesses who pulled them to safety on the quayside.
They were later examined at Cork University Hospital and treated for shock before they were discharged into the care of a family member.
A major rescue operation had meanwhile been launched for the woman also in the car, which eventually led to divers recovering her body from the submerged car at around 12.30am.
The area where the car was seen entering the river was at high tide at the time, resulting in the car plunging into over 12 metres of water, and making search conditions difficult.
The women’s remains were taken to Cork University Hospital where a postmortem is expected to take place over the weekend.
'Tragic'
As news of the incident spread on Saturday, Independent councillor and former deputy Lord Mayor of Cork, Ken O'Flynn, said the city was in shock.
“Even just going down to and being around my own constituency early this morning, and people talking and people meeting in shops etcetera, everybody is in a state of shock,” he told Newstalk radio.
“Everybody is in a state of how tragic and how sorry they are for the family involved.
“It’s a feeling of deep sadness, it’s a feeling that this could be my wife, it could be my child… that’s the reality of what’s on the ground here, and that’s how we’re all feeling down here in Cork.
“It’s a very, very sad day in Cork and our thoughts and prayers are very much so with the family.”
Gardaí have appealed to all those who witnessed the incident to contact them at Anglesea Street Garda station on 021 452 200.
