Teenager who died following jet ski accident in Clare named locally

A TEENAGER who died following a tragic incident on a jet ski in County Clare last night has been named locally as 19-year-old Wassiou Ayawe from Limerick city.

Mr Ayawe, who resided in the Watergate Apartment Complex in the city, was travelling on a jet ski on Lough Derg in Killaloe with two others when the vehicle flipped over and he came into difficulty in the water.

The alarm was raised shortly before 5.30pm and the Killaloe coast guard unit was sent to the scene and began a search, along with the local fire brigade.

Rescue 115 helicopter from Shannon was also involved in the search.

Two of the individuals - believed to be females - made it to shore but Mr Ayawe never emerged from the water.

BREAKING: Young man dies after jet ski incident in Clare

Mr Ayawe's body was located at around 7.30pm and was taken to University Hospital Limerick for a post-mortem examination.

Tributes have been made to the young, “brilliant, quality” soccer player who played with Pike Rovers from a young age and later went on to play for Limerick FC.

According to former Limerick FC coach Trevor Beacom, Mr Ayawe joined Limerick FC at Under-14 level.

“I want to send my sympathies to his family,” Mr Beacom said.

“He was a lovely kid, very honest. I signed him in 2015 or 2016 and he asked me is it true that ye give wine gums at half-time?”

“He’ll be deeply missed by his friends and former teammates who all share his loss. All his teammates appreciated him because he was such a good player,” Mr Beacom added.

The Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council and chairperson of Killaloe-Ballina Search and Recovery Unit Cllr Tony O’Brien said the incident has cast a very dark shadow over the community.

“It was a very tragic accident, a young man and his friends out enjoying themselves out on the water,” Cllr O’Brien said on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.

Tributes to the young man have been paid on social media following the incident.

Mr Ayawe was described as “the nicest young fella you would ever talk to”.

“Rip Wassiou, another good young fella gone before your time was up. You will get a send-off like a king. Watch over your friends and family get them through this hard time,” read one of the tributes on Facebook.

An investigation by An Garda Síochána is ongoing and the jet ski will also be examined to establish what happened.