A young man has tragically died while swimming with friends at a beach in Waterford on Friday afternoon.
The 21-year-old was part of a group swimming 150 meters out to sea at Whiting Bay in Ardmore when they got into difficulty.
A member of the public raised the alarm and Youghal RNLI launched its inshore lifeboat at 1.25pm and the Irish Coast Guard rescue helicopter 117 was dispatched from Waterford.
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It is understood there were five people in the water but two were rescued by the Coast Guard and the other two are believed to have made it safely to shore.
The lifeboat began a search for the third swimmer and he was located in the water by Youghal RNLI.
In a statement from the RNLI, a spokesperson said: "Youghal RNLI was requested to launch its inshore lifeboat at 1.25pm following a request by the Irish Coast Guard to go to the aid of three swimmers thought to be difficulty 150m from the shore in Whiting Bay near Youghal Harbour. The alarm was raised by a member of the public.
"Two of the swimmers subsequently made it to shore unaided and the lifeboat began a search for the third swimmer. The Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 117 from Waterford was also tasked along with the Coast Guard shore units from Youghal and Ardmore.
"Youghal RNLI located the casualty and brought them onboard the lifeboat. The casualty was then airlifted by helicopter and transferred to Cork University Hospital."
The young man was airlifted to Cork University Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
A Garda statement said: "Gardaí and emergency services responded to an incident at Whiting Bay, Ardmore, Co. Waterford this afternoon Friday 28th April 2023.
"At approximately 01:30pm, Gardaí received report that a number of individuals had gotten into difficulty while swimming.
"The Coast Guard removed three people from the water. One of these individuals, a man aged in his early 20s, was taken by air ambulance to Cork University Hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.
"No other injuries have been reported at this time. A file will be prepared for the coroner."
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