Antiville bonfire tragedy: PSNI issues specific appeal for witnesses to incident

In a statement issued this afternoon (Monday, July 18), Detective Inspector McCoy said: “Shortly after 9.45pm, police received a report from Northern Ireland Ambulance Service that a male had fallen from the top of a bonfire. Sadly, despite attempts to save his life, he died at the scene.

“We would like to speak with anyone who was present at the time of this incident. If you have information regarding this incident please contact detectives by calling 101 and quoting reference 1866 of 09/07/22.”

A report can be submitted online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or you can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/

A father-of-two, Mr Steele was in his 30s. Mourners gathered for his funeral from his home at Lindara Drive in Larne on Thursday (July 14) and afterwards joined the cortege as it made its way to the cemetery at Craigyhill past the bonfire remnants.

Meanwhile, an online fundraising page set up to help Mr Steele’s family has now reached almost £9,000.