An Irish teenager has died in Greece after spending an entire day searching for his friend who stumbled to his death.
Max Wall, 18, went to a print shop in Los Angeles and made posters calling for his help in finding his friend Andrew O’Donnell, MailOnline reports.
Local police only started their search on Sunday morning, saying they wanted to wait until the light improved.
Andrew’s body was later discovered at the base of a cliff.
It is believed he fell and hit his head on his way home from a night out.
While waiting for the ferry from the Greek holiday island port to take him home to Dublin, Max collapsed and died.
He had already had heart surgery and was devastated when he heard the tragic news from Andrew.
The teenagers were celebrating their graduation from St Michael’s College with hundreds of other students from the close-knit South Dublin area.
Mr Tim Kehlleher, Principal of St Michael’s College Dublin, said: ‘This is such a tragedy. We are all traumatized. These two young men would have left their mark on the world.
“They were brilliant young men; great rugby players and Andrew was also a talented footballer who played for Belmont.
“We should have celebrated their successes, but instead their parents are on a ferry with two boxes containing the bodies of their sons.”
He added that other teenagers were now frantically trying to leave the island.
“They all want to leave. They were traumatized and people were saying I wanted to go home,” Mr. Kelleher said.
“South Dublin is a small parish, all the schools know each other, they play against each other, they are friends with each other, there are older siblings and friends all over the area who are deeply devastated.
“It’s a tight-knit community. When something like that happens there’s a lot of hysteria and a lot of fear and the parents ring the bell and everyone is traumatized, especially the boys who were with Andrew and Max. They are traumatized.
“They just want to go home and will all be home in the next 48 hours.”
Brigadier Thanos Loukas said: ‘Max was found very close to where he was staying. We’ve since heard he had a history of heart problems, but the answers lie in autopsies. The cause of death in both cases will become clearer once they are done.
Another island policeman added: ‘Max collapsed when he heard what had happened. Everyone says what is true, that the incident looks like an ancient Greek tragedy. The whole island is in shock.
Irish Tánaiste Micheál Martin said yesterday: ‘This is the most devastating and traumatic news a parent can hear and it is every parent’s nightmare and many of our sons and daughters are going overseas after the school leaving certificates and after the exams.
“Obviously a lot of their friends are over there in Ios and it’s a very, very difficult time for them now and we just ask them to take care of each other over the next few days and through the difficult time. coming.”
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