A 19-year-old man died following what appears to have been a tragic accident in Limerick yesterday after he was impaled on railings when he fell off a drainpipe.
The fatal incident happened at around 9am at an apartment building on Clare Street near the city centre.
Gardaí said they initially received reports of an attempted burglary in progress when the young man was spotted climbing the drainpipe.
However, they later confirmed that they were investigating reports that the man may have been trying to gain access to a relative's flat.
It is understood that he fell off a drainpipe on the six-storey Georgian building and was impaled on the railings below.
Gardaí said the seriously injured young man managed to get off the railings and then staggered around the corner some 50 yards to St Lelia Street where he collapsed.
An ambulance was called and the man was removed to nearby St John's hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly before 10am yesterday.
Gardaí at Henry Street preserved the scene and Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster is due to carry out a postmortem examination later today.
Officially, gardaí said yesterday that they were treating the death as "suspicious" until the facts behind the man's attempts to climb the drainpipe had been established.
However, it is thought unlikely that there was any sinister motive behind his efforts to gain access to the building in broad daylight.
Efforts were under way yesterday to contact the family of the man who was a native of Limerick city. Gardaí said his name would not be released until all relatives had been informed.