Body found in search for garda who went missing in County Wicklow floods

Discovery was made close to where off-duty garda Ciaran Jones was swept away while trying to divert people to safety Search teams in the Irish Republic have found a body close to where a member of the Garda Síochána went missing on Monday night during heavy flooding of the river Liffey. Ciaran Jones was swept away while trying to divert people away from Ballyward Bridge, in Co Wicklow, during driving rain and flooding. The discovery was made on Tuesday morning by a local search unit. The garda’s sub-aqua team was sent to the scene to help retrieve the body. The river Liffey was dangerously high at Ballysmuttan, near Manor Kilbride on Monday evening. Jones was off-duty at the time, but it is thought he stopped to warn motorists of the danger. He had been in the force for about four years. The bridge, which was recently reconstructed, had previously been damaged in heavy floods. In Dublin, gardai said the body of woman was discovered in the flooded basement of a house in the Crumlin area. Dublin was badly affected by the torrential rain, with rail lines closed and a shopping centre in the west of the city evacuated after 10cm of water poured into it. The rain caused traffic chaos on major arterial routes around Dublin and hearings at the Republic’s courts of criminal justice were suspended for a day. According to the Irish weather service Met Éireann, 67mm of rain was recorded as having fallen at Dublin airport between 7pm on Sunday evening and 7pm on Monday. Ireland Europe Flooding Natural disasters and extreme weather Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 25, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.