Man found dead after search in river named Abergwyngregyn

A man whose body was recovered after a major search in a river was named Alun Owen, 32.

Emergency services found the body of the Openreach engineer in the river at Abergwyngregyn, Gwynedd, just before 19:15 BST on Tuesday.

Mr. Owen was known to family and friends as “Al Bonc”.

The Health and Safety Executive and North Wales Police said they were working together to establish the sequence of events that led to his death.

Det Insp Andrew Gibson of the North Wales Police said the force’s “heartfelt condolences” were with the man’s family, friends and colleagues.

In a statement, the force said that it and the Health and Safety Executive were “working together to establish the sequence of events that led to this tragic incident that resulted in the death of a highly respected local man.”

The coroner has also been informed.

• They find the body of a man after a major search in a river

Clive Selley, CEO of Openreach, said: “We are extremely shocked and saddened to have lost Alun Owen, one of our Openreach family last night.

“Our thoughts and condolences go out to Alun’s family and friends.

“Alun was an extremely popular member of the team and had worked as an engineer in and around North Wales for five years.

“We are now working closely with the North Wales Police as they carry out their investigation.”

A major search for Owen began around 4 p.m. Tuesday and involved police, firefighters, the Coast Guard and search and rescue volunteers.

Two specialized water rescue teams and three fire crews from the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service searched the river, along with members of the Ogwen Valley Search and Rescue Team.

The coast guard helicopter assisted and two coast guard rescue teams were dispatched from Bangor and Llandudno to assist in the search.

Earlier this week, houses in the village were flooded after the Aber River overflowed due to heavy rains.