Army canoeist in stable condition

Weather conditions worsened during the operation

A soldier is in a stable condition in hospital following a canoeing accident off the County Down coast in which one of his colleagues died.

They had been reported missing in Murlough Bay off the coast of County Down.

The alarm was raised by a third canoeist who took 40 minutes to swim to shore. He then ran for two miles.

He was taken to Downe Hospital in Downpatrick, but was later released.

The dead man was Sergeant Allan Stevenson, 36, from Stirling in Scotland.

He was serving with 6th regiment Royal Military Police.

Sergeant Stevenson was was legally separated and had three children.

The Coastguard launched the rescue operation on Saturday morning.

The men had stayed with their overturned two-man kayak and tried to paddle to land.

The canoeists were found by a rescue helicopter from the Republic of Ireland.

Shortly after the helicopter crew located the two missing casualties and winched one aboard and requested the Newcastle lifeboat to recover the second man to the lifeboat deck Coastguard spokesman

The man who died was pulled out of the water by the crew of Newcastle lifeboat, which attempted to resuscitate him.

The two men were taken to the Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry, County Down.

Both offshore and onshore rescue teams took part.

Weather conditions in the area had been reported to be worsening during the search.

The canoeists are from Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn, County Antrim, but were off-duty.

A Coastguard spokesman said: "The Coastguard team at Newcastle was also alerted and sent to the cliff top to report back on local conditions and to try and locate the missing canoeists visually.

"The man who came ashore reported that the two missing colleagues were paddling half a mile from the shoreline also heading for Newcastle.

Both offshore and onshore rescue teams took part

"The Newcastle inshore and all weather lifeboats were requested to launch and the Irish Coastguard was also requested to scramble its helicopter to the area. It then began its search in Dundrum bay.

"Shortly after the helicopter crew located the two missing casualties and winched one aboard and requested the Newcastle lifeboat to recover the second man to the lifeboat deck."

John Lowry of Newcastle Lifeboat said: "One of my colleagues was watching a seagull flying away, when we noticed there were two objects in the water.

"He kept looking at the spot through his binoculars.

"The helicopter and lifeboats were despatched to the area and the people were recovered."

Meanwhile, Red Bay Lifeboat has rescued a jet skier off the Cushendall coast in County Antrim.

The craft developed engine trouble 1.5 miles off shore and was blown out to sea in the strong winds on Sunday.

The 16-year-old youth on board was suffering from mild hypothermia and was quickly brought back to shore by the lifeboat crew.

He had been in the water for approximately 30 minutes.