A missing man who is feared dead after he disappeared in the water following a kayak accident was set to become a father again, it emerged on Monday.
The 34-year-old man had been kayaking with his son at the River Barrow in Ardreigh Lock, Co Kildare when it capsized.
A passing teenager raised the alarm after he spotted the man in distress holding the boy above the water.
The man’s son was rescued and taken out of the water and treated at the scene by paramedics, however, the man disappeared into the water.
An extensive multi-agency search continued on Monday at the River Barrow, but there was no trace of the father.
The Garda Water Unit were at the scene working alongside uniform gardaí, the civil defence and local people who volunteered.
Drones were used by search teams to get a view from above of the river and riverbank.
A local source said: “They would be a well-known family and the man’s partner is sadly expecting and he was set to become a father again.
“God bless that poor child [that was with him].”
In a statement, a spokesman for the gardai said: “A multiagency search operation took place [on Sunday] following reports of a kayak overturning in the River Barrow.
“A juvenile was rescued from the water and was treated at the scene by paramedics.
“A further person is believed to be still missing.”
Labour Councillor Aoife Breslin, the Cathaoirleach of Athy Municipal District, said: “People are very saddened.
“Particularly over Covid that whole area has been heavily walked by people and it’s a beautiful part of the town and there’s people up and down it.
“Locals are extremely shocked.
“There’s a good civil defence here around Athy and there’s quite a large number of people involved and quite a number of fishermen.
“We would be quite used to it, unfortunately people do go into the [River] Barrow and particularly down there because there’s a weir down there and it overflows a lot.
“There would be quite a lot of people who would be used of looking for bodies, but we’ve never had a tragedy like this before.
“We’ve had tragedies alright where people decided they couldn’t cope with life.”
