BBC News NI<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n An RNLI officer has described the heartbreaking and traumatic scenes of witnessing families watching on helplessly as efforts to locate two missing teenage boys unfolded.<\/p>\n Emmanuel Familola, originally from Nigeria, and 18-year-old Matt Sibanda, from Zimbabwe died after getting into difficulty in the water near Buncrana, County Donegal, on Saturday.<\/p>\n Joe Joyce, the RNLI press officer for the Lough Swilly lifeboat station, said this was a very difficult incident to attend.<\/p>\n Hundreds of people attended a special service at St Mary’s Oratory in Buncrana on Sunday<\/a> in their memory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The tragedy unfolded on Saturday afternoon after the Irish Coast Guard received a report that there were a number of people in difficulty in the water.<\/p>\n It is understood a group had been playing football on the beach at Ned’s Point, just outside Buncrana, and some had gone into the water to retrieve a ball.<\/p>\n Later that evening, an 18-year-old male’s body was recovered from the water.<\/a><\/p>\n A juvenile who was rescued from the water was taken to Letterkenny University Hospital, where he died in the early hours of Sunday morning.<\/p>\n A third teenage boy managed to make it back to shore.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme<\/a> on Monday, Mr Joyce said that when they got the call on Saturday, they immediately launched two lifeboats.<\/p>\n “A number of requests were made to Malin Head Coast Guard for assistance, and we launched two of our lifeboats.<\/p>\n “Malin Head also put out a ‘Mayday’, asking anyone in the vicinity to come and assist us.”<\/p>\n He said a former RNLI crew member, who was on the lough in his own personal boat, assisted in the incident.<\/p>\n There was also an Irish Coast Guard helicopter and drones used in the search operation, Mr Joyce said.<\/p>\n “There was a local yacht race happening that day, and they stopped that and assisted with the search,” he said, adding there were about 60 people involved in the search at that stage.<\/p>\n “It was terribly traumatic to look at the families watching out over the lough and praying,” he said.<\/p>\n Mr Joyce said support services have been put in place following the incident. <\/p>\n “The schools have opened up to give counselling and we are looking after our own team, and everyone is just shocked.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Father Bradley arrived on the scene to give comfort to the families and led a short prayer service,” he said. <\/p>\n “There was an eeriness that hung over the pier \u2014 it was a terrible scene.”<\/p>\n Mr Joyce said the area is a popular swimming spot and noted that waters can change dramatically and quickly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Fr Bradley said he was present alongside the family of 14-year-old Matt, one of two teenagers who tragically lost their lives in the incident, on Saturday.<\/p>\n He describing the experience of standing beside his mother at the shoreline as “unspeakably tough”.<\/p>\n “We simply said a prayer with Matt’s mother, out over the water, simply begging God that his body would be found,” he said.<\/p>\n “The power of a mother’s love is amazing, as I stood there and listened to her call out Matt’s name, trying her best to bring him back to life, as she once gave him life”.<\/p>\n He said the area has been rocked by tragic events in recent years.<\/p>\n![\"Handout](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/7136\/live\/36dbe010-2ef5-11f0-a1ff-d9949b05c459.jpg.webp\")
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRescue efforts<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/1248\/live\/84a54ce0-2efb-11f0-8ff1-59f5dcf8e9f5.jpg.webp\")
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n‘Unspeakably tough’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n