Heatwave horror as father drowns in f looded quarry
A FAMILY spoke of their grief last night following the death of a man who died after diving into a flooded quarry during the heatwave.
Mark O’Brien, 28, was sunbathing with friends when he jumped into Craigiehill Quarry near Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, shortly before 8.30pm on Monday.
Friends raised the alarm when the father of one, known as ‘Sparky’, did not surface.
Emergency services pulled his body from the water at around midnight.
His death came hours after two teenagers were filmed jumping into the quarry during the bank holiday weekend, despite signs being placed around the quarry reading: ‘Danger: Deep water.’
Relatives and friends took to social media to pay tribute to Mr O’Brien following his death. Family member Gordon Ritchie O’Brien posted a picture of the victim on Facebook, along with the caption: ‘I love you so much.’
It is the second tragedy in the family in as many years. Mr O’Brien’s brother Edward died in April 2016 following a battle with liver disease.
Floral tributes were left on the locked gate of the quarry yesterday. Two men in their twenties arrived and read the messages on the bouquets while quietly sobbing.
Police had been barring entry through the gate, which is just minutes away from the cliff edge.
One floral tribute read: ‘RIP Sparky! You will sadly be missed by all. I will look after “your woman” to cherish your memories. Till we meet again xxxx’
Another said: ‘Fly high bro. Another Brother tragically took from us.’
A third read: ‘RIP Son, always in my heart, Adele xxxxx’
One man paying tribute said he had been at the scene at the time of the incident, the search operation and its aftermath. He added: ‘We were at the other end when we could see something was happening, with the emergency services arriving.
‘They had boats in the water searching all over for the boy and the road up here was choked with traffic.
‘It must be absolutely horrendous for his family.
‘I take the kids here all the time and people walk their dogs but you never think something like this is going to happen.’
Mr O’Brien’s relatives in Kilmarnock were too upset to comment when approached last night.
But friend Kevin Sneddon Drummond wrote on Facebook: ‘Still can’t believe it, am shocked. Mark was a nice decent genuine guy. Thinking of all the family at this sad time.’
A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘A post-mortem will take place to establish the exact cause of death. However, there would not appear to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.’ RNLI spokesman Henry Weaver said: ‘It’s very tempting to go swimming when it’s warm but if you’re going to go into open water you need to assess your environment before you do.’
‘Absolutely horrendous’