Irish police have launched an investigation after two bodies were recovered from Dublin's Grand Canal on Saturday morning.
An Garda Síochána said the bodies of two men, both aged in their 40s, were recovered at Grand Parade shortly after 8 a.m. on Saturday.
Both men were pronounced dead and have since been identified, gardaí said. A post-mortem examination is due to take place.
It has been widely reported that both men are Irish nationals and had been living in two tents pitched close to where the bodies were discovered on Saturday.
The men were homeless and had been camping opposite a makeshift refugee camp on the banks of the Grand Canal where International Protection Applicants have been sleeping, according to widespread reports.
Gardaí erected a cordon on both sides of the Canal on Saturday to carry out a forensic investigation. Gardaí carried out forensic investigations inside two tents pitched along the Canal, while Garda divers also examined the scene.
The two pop-up tents, colored green and navy, are situated along a narrow strip of land between the road and the Canal to the West of the Charlemont Luas stop.
Aubrey McCarthy, Chairperson of homeless charity Tiglin, said it was "horrendous" to hear news of the two deaths.
"It's so disheartening," McCarthy told RTÉ News. "To have lost their lives in such tragic circumstances is horrendous and so upsetting for all of the team at Tiglin."
Local Fianna Fáil TD described the incident as "a tragic development" for the local area.
"I'm extremely sorry to hear about the fact that two men have died. We don't know yet their identity but it's a tragic development in the area. The gardaí are investigating the matter," O'Callaghan told RTÉ.
O'Callaghan added that the incident also underlines the dangers of being homeless and living in a tent if it turns out that the two men were homeless.
"Obviously there's an obligation to ensure that we provide accommodation for people who find themselves in that desperate situation."
People living in the makeshift camp across the Canal told the Irish Times that they did not know what had happened but that Friday night was cold and wet.
Meanwhile, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) has said that it is awaiting confirmation of the men's identities to establish whether they were known to homeless services.
DRHE offered its sympathies to the two men and said there is "sufficient emergency accommodation" for homeless people in Dublin. DRHE urged people in need of accommodation to "contact their local authority".
"We encourage members of the public to download the Rough Sleeper Alert app to assist teams in supporting people most at risk," DRHE said in a statement.
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