A young Irish man studying in the US has fallen to his death while climbing a 300-foot radio tower in Missouri. Mr Jason McArdle (20), from Clones, Co Monaghan, was a first-year student at the Central Methodist College in Fayette, Missouri.
On Tuesday morning, he and friend went to look for a water tower near the college which, it is understood, he intended to climb. Instead, they found a 300-foot tower used to support army communications equipment. Mr McArdle attempted to climb it alone and fell to his death.
According to the college, he was studying there as part of a United Methodist college programme designed to bring students from Northern Ireland to the US for business-related courses with an international relations and peace agenda attached.
The programme is carried out in conjunction with the Belfast-based Business Education Initiative of Northern Ireland, which is run by the Department for Employment and Learning.
The Central Methodist College said it was "deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic accident". It extended its sympathy to Mr McArdle's family.
Campus counselling services are being provided and a memorial service will be held on the campus next week. It was not clear yesterday when Mr McArdle's body might be flown home.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin said it had not been in touch with the family. "We would not always be contacted in cases like this," he said. A spokeswoman for the Department of Employment and Learning in Belfast said it was deeply shocked and had extended its sympathy to Mr McArdle's family.
