Moving Farewell to Irish Students who Died on the Greek Island of Ios

Dozens of Irish students formed a guard of honor at the port of the Greek island of Ios to pay their last respects to two classmates who died on the island in separate incidents.

The bodies of Andrew O’Donnell and Max Wall, both 18, were taken on to a ferry for Athens so that post-mortems could establish the exact cause of deaths.

With their heads bowed solemnly, many of the youngsters were pupils of St Michael’s College, Dublin, where the two young men studied.

They were part of a bigger group of students from schools across Ireland. They were on a post-exams holiday to Ios to mark the end of their secondary education.

Some of the pupils placed yellow roses on the hearses of the two pupils as a sign of their friendship while others wept as their bodies were taken from Ios Health Centre to the port, a short distance away, on Tuesday.

Andrew and Max’s parents were also in Ios and they accompanied their coffins to Athens. They will await the results of the post-mortem examination which are not expected for another ten days.

Toxicology tests to be carried out on the Irish students who died on Ios

Greek officials revealed that initial findings showed that Andrew died after falling and sustaining an injury to his head. His body was discovered on early Sunday afternoon on a rocky slope close to the port area.

Max is believed to have suffered a heart attack just an hour later after hearing the news while walking in the port area, and collapsed at the entrance to an alley.

Officials said toxicology tests will also be carried out. Andrew is believed to have been on a night out with pals in Hora, which is crammed with bars and clubs selling cheap drinks, before he was separated from them.

He went missing early on Saturday and was discovered on a rocky slope yards from a hospital and a busy main road more than 24 hours after he was first reported missing.

His body was found in scrubland located just below a popular five-star hotel overlooking the port of Ios. It’s one of the busiest sites on the popular Greek holiday island – an area where Greek police had already searched but failed to find him.

The desperate search of the island also involved his classmates.

Max Wall died shortly after being given the news due to the shock, it’s understood. He was found at the entrance to an alleyway near the town’s port.

Ios is renowned for its vivid nightlife

The Greek island of Ios, or Nios as locals call it, is a charming Cycladic island renowned among the young for its vivid nightlife.

It is located between Santorini, Paros and Naxos islands and offers a plethora of lovely bays and beaches.

Chora, the capital, is a white Cycladic village, full of stairs and narrow paths that make it inaccessible for cars.

Today, the main path through this village is completely taken over by tourism with restaurants, boutiques, bars and discothèques catering to visitors.