An inquest into the death of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe heard evidence that the tidal section of an underground drainage tunnel where his body was found would have filled with seawater on the night he went missing.

Noah Donohoe left his home in south Belfast on his bike on June 21, 2020, to meet two friends in the Cavehill area. His naked body was discovered six days later on June 27, 2020, in the tunnel more than 600 metres downstream from a culvert inlet behind houses at Northwood Road in north Belfast. A post-mortem examination determined drowning as the likely cause of death.

Jonathan McKee, a director in the Department for Infrastructure, told the inquest the tidal area near the M2 motorway was substantially or completely filled with seawater from 22:00 BST on June 21, 2020.

McKee stated the culvert was in good condition, relatively uncomplicated for an urban area, and had no prior records from 2016 to June 2020 of public or elected representative concerns about unauthorised access or gatherings at the site. He noted no graffiti, litter, or signs of anti-social behaviour around the culvert inlet, which received weekly checks.

The witness said the area beside back gardens at Northwood Road was not abandoned and local residents of four homes were aware of risks. Access was limited to those residents. The steel bar screen at the inlet controlled debris from an adjoining stream and its hatch was unlocked to allow maintenance and escape if needed.

McKee reported that on June 24, 2020, during the search for Donohoe, a lock on a gate from a public park to the culvert area was cut, likely by an angle grinder, allowing 40 to 50 people onto the site. Locks were added to culvert hatches afterwards due to public interest and risk of copycat entries.

He clarified that a debris screen at the Premier Drive Stream inlet was later replaced with a security screen due to new valve installations, not Donohoe's death. McKee said risks in such culverts cannot be reduced to zero.