A man and his son from Douglas died in a drowning tragedy in County Donegal, the Irish media is reporting.

They perished at Lough Keel on the outskirts of Kilmacrennan on Thursday afternoon.

The father was aged in his early 50s while his son was aged 17.

The victims, along with another 15-year-old son, had taken a break from renovations at the holiday home at Coolboy on the outskirts of Letterkenny to go fishing.

However, shortly before 3pm the 17-year-old fell into the lough by accident and his father jumped in to try and save him.

Both drowned and the youngest boy survived.

Irish Water employees working nearby raised the alarm and a search and rescue operation involving a helicopter, Coastguard, gardai (the Irish police force) and ambulance personnel was then launched.

The body of the younger man was spotted by the helicopter and recovered not long after the tragedy occurred.

Local councillor Michael McBride said: "The family had only moved to the area in the past few weeks so it was an unfortunate beginning to their new life in Ireland.

"I understand they were fishing from the shore and got into difficulty.

"The coastguard and authorities were on the scene very quickly and managed to find the two bodies and pull the other son to safety.

"It is very traumatic for the son who survived the incident and the community wish him a speedy recovery.

"On behalf of Kilmacrennan I want to offer my condolences to the man’s family and let them know we are united in our grief."

Investigations are continuing.