A post mortem is due be carried out on an eight year girl who drowned after getting into difficulty while swimming at Fountainstown Beach yesterday afternoon.
Gardaí and emergency services launched the search operation after the alarm was raised at around twenty to 5. The Irish Coast Guard helicopter, lifeboat, the RNLI, Mallow Search and Rescue, multiple fire brigade units, and Gardaí from Crosshaven and Carrigaline also joined the search which went on for over three hours.
The childs body was removed from the water at around quarter to 8 yesterday evening and she was pronounced dead at the scene by the emergency services.
She was taken to Cork University Hospital where a post mortem will be carried out.
Gerard O' Flynn from the Irish Coast Guard says a major operation was initiated which involved the Shannon based search and rescue helicopter.
Yesterday afternoon at approximately 4.30 Valencia Coast Guard was alerted to a report of a young girl getting into difficulty at Fountainstown Beach in County Cork. A search and rescue operation was was immediately initiated by Valencia, which included the tasking of the Shannon based Coastguard helicopter rescue 115 RNLI unit from Crosshaven and the Coast Guard unit from Crosshaven."
