A MAN IN his 50s and a young child have died in an incident in Cork in the early hours of the morning.

The girl was discovered at a beach near Ballydehob, while the body of the man was found in shallow water.

The Goleen unit of the Irish Coast Guard were tasked to the area at 12.40am because of a missing person’s report. It was suspected that he and a young child had entered the water.

The child was located on the beach but resuscitation attempts proved unsuccessful. The team treated the child for 90 minutes before she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The body of the man was recovered from shallow water by the Baltimore RNLI lifeboat. Also on scene were Schull CRBI, Gardaí and the fire service.

Gardaí said they responded to a call and went to a farm at Foilnamuck in Ballydehob just before midnight. They searched the farmland and surrounding area.

Both bodies have been removed to University Hospital Cork and a post-mortem is due to be carried out by Dr Margaret Bolster of the State Pathologist’s Office today.