These are the touching images which show a guard of honour formed by Irish students as the bodies of their two friends left the Greek holiday island of Ios.
Dozens of students lined a road leading to the island’s port as the bodies of Andrew O’Donnell and Max Wall, both 18, were taken onto a ferry for Athens so that a post-mortem could take place to establish their exact cause of death.
Heads bowed solemnly, many of the youngsters were pupils of St Michael’s College, Dublin where the two young men who tragically lost their lives also studied.
They were part of a bigger group of students from schools across Ireland during a post-exams holiday to Ios to mark the end of their secondary education.
Some of the students 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.
Dozens of students lined a road leading to the island’s port as the bodies of Andrew O’Donnell and Max Wall, both 18 were taken onto a ferry
Heads bowed solemnly, many of the youngsters were pupils of St Michael’s College, Dublin where the two young men who tragically lost their lives also studied.
Some of the students placed yellow roses on the hearses of the two pupils as a sign of their friendship
Recent graduates Andrew O’Donnell (left) and his classmate Max Wall (right), both 18 and from the same school, died in separate tragic incidents over the weekend
Andrew and Max’s parents were also in Ios for the sombre send off and accompanied their coffins to Athens, awaiting the results of the post-mortem examination which are not expected for another ten days.
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 of the news while walking in the port area and collapsed at the entrance to an alley.
Officials also revealed that 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 becoming separated from them.
Andrew 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 scrub land located just below a popular five-star hotel and overlooking the port of Ios, one of the busiest sites on the popular Greek holiday island – in an area Greek police had already searched but failed to find him.
Andrew went missing early on Saturday in the town of Hora, and was found after a desperate search of the island involving his classmates.
One, Max Wall, died shortly after being given the news, and is understood to have died from shock. He was found at the entrance to an alleyway near the town’s port.
Andrew O’Donnell, 18 was found dead in scrub land (seen left) located just below a popular five-star hotel and overlooking the port of Ios. Just hours later, his friend Max Wall collapsed and was found at the entrance to a narrow alley in the Ios port area (right)
A simple bouquet of flowers lay at the top of the slope where Andrew was found on Sunday
When looking for Andrew, officers initially searched the area on Sunday morning after being informed by his friends that he had gone missing after becoming separated from them while they were in Ios port, where there are bars and restaurants.
They subsequently returned to the area later that day, discovering Andrew’s body at around 1pm.
He was rushed to Ios Health Centre, the island’s only hospital which is yards away where he was pronounced dead.
An Ios port police official told MailOnline: ‘We started our search 24 hours after Andrew had gone missing, which is standard procedure. We focused on the slopes around the port area but did not find anything but then returned for a second time.
‘His body was hidden in bushes and was not visible from a path that runs along the top of the slope. There is a luxury hotel there and houses along it, so it’s a very well used path and first time around, it was easy to miss.’
Another port police official who said that he was part of the team that discovered Andrew’s body said: ‘We initially walked the length of the path at the top of the slope and couldn’t see anything. His body was in the undergrowth.
‘The sad thing is that as the police and Andrew’s pals were looking for him, he wasn’t in a remote location and was close to us all, but we didn’t realise this.’
A simple bouquet of flowers lay at the top of the slope where Andrew was found.
His friend Max Wall collapsed and died at the entrance to a narrow alley in the Ios port area at 2pm on Sunday, just an hour after news emerged of Andrew’s death.
It is believed that he died of shock and according to reports, the youngster had a history of heart problems and had spent all day searching for his friend.
Most of the two boys’ friends are believed to have left Ios, many travelling to Athens on Tuesday with their coffins where an autopsy is to take place to establish their exact cause of death.
But hundreds of Irish youngsters have remained in Ios, where like Andrew and Max, they travelled to the island to mark the end of their secondary education.
Many expressed anger at news that Andrew was discovered in a busy area of Ios and only a ten-minute walk from Hora, the island’s capital town which is bustling with bars and nightclubs.
Toby Moriarty, from Dublin said: ‘Obviously it’s shocked us all, but we would like to know why the police took so long to find him? It’s terrible that they had already searched the area where he was eventually found.
‘I think the Greek police should have started looking for him quicker because it was quite obvious that something was wrong.’
Sheila Walsh, 18 said: ‘My heart goes out to the family and given where Andrew was found, I don’t think the Greek police have done a very good job. He was right under their noses, and they didn’t even realise it.
‘It’s a bit of a joke if you ask me and I don’t know why they had to wait 24 hours before they started searching for him?’
Pictured: Flowers are seen at the site of where Andrew O’Donnell was found on Sunday
It is believed that Andrew had been on a night out with pals in Hora before heading to the port area, where he became separated from them.
The parents of both Andrew and Max arrived in Greece on Tuesday to receive the results of post-mortem tests and bring home their sons’ remains.
Medical examiners conducting the tests found no signs of foul play.
Earlier reports suggested that police were preparing to investigate whether their drinks had been spiked, but police spokesperson Konstantina Dimoglidou told MailOnline yesterday that any lines of inquiry would depend on the results of the post-mortem, which suggest no foul play was involved in the boys’ deaths.
Fellow pupils formed a guard of honour as police transported the boys’ bodies from Ios to Athens, ahead of them being flown home to Ireland accompanied by their grieving families.
Andrew’s father Gavin is said to be distraught, a close family friend who asked to remain anonymous told MailOnline.
‘Gavin described Andrew as his ”darling boy” in a message to me.
Andrew was rushed to Ios Health Centre (pictured), the island’s only hospital which is yards away where he was pronounced dead
Pictured: The site where Max Wall was found at around 2pm on Sunday, shortly after his friend Andrew was found dead
‘Gavin is a very giving man as it is his whole family. He is very proud of this college and as an Alma mater.
‘Andrew’s grandfather Joe is a doctor and they are both very proud of Andrew, who was in the prime of his life. This is such a devastating tragedy.
‘There for the grace of God go I. It is such a shock,’ the family friend said.
‘It is just unexplainable. He and Max were so young. We just do not know why this happened. We are all grieving for both families.’
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