A grieving sister of teenager Christopher Stokes has shared a heart-breaking photo of her final moments with her brother - who lost his fight for life after the Galway pier tragedy.
Talented boxers Christopher, 19, and John Keenan (Sammon), 16, lost their lives along with their pal Wojciech Panek, 17, after a car they were in entered the water in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The single-vehicle horror happened at Menlo Pier near Galway city at around 2.40am. Gardai and emergency services raced to the scene and removed three teens from the River Corrib.
READ MORE: Sister of teen who died in Galway pier tragedy says he was 'trying his best' to come home to family
The three pals were rushed to University Hospital Galway John and Polish national Wojciech, understood to have been living in Limerick, passed away that morning.
Christopher - the son of Anthony and Kate and brother of Michael, Martin, Tommy, Annalise, Nicole, Geraldine, Katelyn and Lucy - fought for his life in intensive care for a number of hours before he lost his battle and passed away on Saturday afternoon.
Now his heartbroken sister Annalise, 21, has shared a photo of her final moments with her beloved brother - holding Christopher’s hand - willing him to live - while he lay in hospital fighting for his life.
The heart-wrenching image - which Annalise gave us permission to publish - shows her holding her younger brother’s hand with rosary beads wrapped around his wrist.
The picture that Annalise captioned “My baby brother come back please” was taken just moments before he sadly passed away.
Recalling the distressing moment she held Christopher’s hand before he died, Annalise told us: “My baby brother was there - but wasn’t. He wouldn’t wake up.”
Annalise also shared an image of her with Christopher during happier times.
And speaking today as her family were planning Christopher’s funeral arrangements, heartbroken Annalise said: “Christopher was the best brother.”
“He was always there for his family. He had a heart of gold,” she said. “He loved boxing and driving around with loud music playing. He was the life of the party.”
She said brave Christopher, from Ballinfoyle in Galway, “was trying his best to get out” of the car when it entered the river.
“All we know is the car went into the water and he was trying his best to get out. He was 15 minutes underneath the water and his heart was still beating.”
“My poor brother was fighting it - he tried his best to come back to us.”
“Our family chain is broken. Our family will never be the same without him,” Annalise told us.
Meanwhile, on Sunday afternoon, large crowds of friends and neighbours gathered outside both the Galway homes of Christopher and John where they released blue and white balloons as well as balloons marking the pals ages 16 and 19 to remember the tragic pair and their pal Wojciech.
Gardai in Galway continue to investigate the circumstances around the tragic deaths of the three pals and continue to appeal for witnesses.
“We are appealing for witnesses at this stage for anyone who may have been in the Menlo area anytime between 2am and 2.40am on Saturday who may have seen a 08 D blue Peugeot 308 in the area to contact us, especially if they have dashcam or if they were in the area at that time,” a garda spokesperson said.
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