Gardaí are treating the deaths of a man and a woman who were taken from the river Shannon in Co Leitrim on Friday afternoon as a tragic accident.

The couple, who were in their 30s and living in Germany, had hired a cruiser last Sunday and their bodies were found in the vicinity of the boat in Carrick-on-Shannon.

The alarm was raised at 11.30am on Friday after the pair were reported missing.

It is understood they failed to keep an appointment on Thursday evening and concerned relatives then went to the boat and discovered they were missing.

Gardaí confirmed that the man, whose body was recovered at about 2pm, was Irish, while the woman who died was English.

Her body was taken from the water near the bridge dividing Leitrim and Roscommon at about 5pm.

Locals in the town were shocked when word began to spread about a search on the river for two young people who were missing from a boat.

The couple were believed to have been visiting family members in Carrick-on-Shannon.

Rescue

One theory being investigated is that one of the pair fell into the water and the other person tried to rescue them.

However, gardaí said a postmortem will be carried out to determine the cause and circumstances of their deaths.

Local man John Dunne, who was unaware that a search was under way, saw the woman’s body being recovered as he drove over the bridge on Friday afternoon.

“I was just driving over the bridge and I noticed all the activity there with divers and I knew it was not good,” he said.

Carrick-on-Shannon is a popular stopping point for people cruising the river Shannon.

Local people pointed out that if this had happened at the height of season, the alarm would have been raised much more quickly by other people travelling in boats.

The bodies were removed to Sligo University Hospital.

“At this stage the deaths are being treated as accidental,” a Garda spokesman said.