49-year-old Irish woman dies in yachting accident in South Africa

Wreckage of the yacht which ran aground on rocks off the coast of South Africa claiming the life of a 49-year-old Irish woman.

The bodies of the 61-year-old Scottish man and a 49-year-old Irishwoman were located and recovered from the scene.

An Irish man that she was travelling with was uninjured in the incident and managed to swim to safety. It is believed the yacht hit rocks and began to break into parts.

All those on board were residents of the Western Cape area, according to South African rescue services.

A survivor raised the alarm after swimming to shore.

Two people have died after a yacht ran aground along the west coast.

They were the only three people on the yacht, which was reportedly sailing from Langebaan to Cape Town.

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) added that an inquest into the incident has been opened by police.

The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed today that they were providing consular assistance to the family of a woman who had died in the Western Cape, a province in the south-west of the country.