Search for Kilkenny man missing in River Nore suspended until Storm Dennis passes

The search for a man reported missing in the River Nore since Monday will have to be put on hold until Storm Dennis passes.

Emergency services will now have to wait until next week to resume a full search for the man after it was reported he went into the river close to John’s Bridge in the city.

River searches have been hampered all week by strong currents and poor visibility in the water caused by the aftermath of Storm Ciara and the freezing conditions it brought.

The Kilkenny Civil Defence and gardai once again called off the search for the man late yesterday evening due to fading light. Unfortunately if was again impossible to get divers into the water yesterday as conditions had not improved.

The search for the man will now enter a second week with the search being suspended over the weekend. Storm Dennis is not due to pass until Sunday evening at the earliest.

A local Garda source told KilkennyNow.ie: “It has been a very frustrating search in the conditions we are dealing in.

“The Garda Divers are down but haven’t been able to get into the water in these conditions and it has been the same for the Kilkenny Sub Aqua club.

“The conditions this weekend do not favour our search attempts so in all reality we will have to wait till Storm Dennis passes to resume the search.

“At that point, we will be able to assess the situation and decide whether or not we have to broaden our search.

“One thing that is guaranteed, we will be there to see this search out.”