TRIBUTES have been paid to a six-year-old North Belfast boy who died following a tragic accident while on holiday in Spain.

Corey Aughey fell into the pool near Majorca on the first day of his family holiday last Thursday and spent three days on life support in intensive care before he sadly died on Sunday.

The youngster was initially revived at the poolside by emergency responders, who performed CPR on him for around 30 minutes following the near-drowning incident, but he remained in a critical state in hospital until his death.

Over £12,000 has been raised at the time of writing to raise funds to bring Corey home from Spain.

His sister, Darci said the family's lives will never be the same again following the tragedy.

"How do you say goodbye to the person who made your whole world complete?," she said.

"People were right when they said you only get one true best friend in this world and you were mine.

"We always knew you were gonna be a heartbreaker, little did we know it was gonna be our hearts you were breaking.

"God only takes the best and Corey you were better than the best, you were far too good for this world you made me the proudest big sister to see this earth.

"It’s crazy how a couple seconds can change your life forever and our lives will never be the same.

"You had so much more to live for, life really isn’t fair is it? At least you never got to experience the pain and hurt this awful world can bring."

Darci said that Corey lived his life happy and made everyone else happy.

"Heartbreak doesn’t describe the pain everyone is in. Nothing will.

"You’ll always be my hero. The bond we had was unbreakable. We laughed, we fought, we cried, we smiled. We didn’t always show our love but we definitely had it inside.

"I couldn’t have chosen a better brother if I did have the choice. Our memories will never fade. You are such an inspiration to everyone that knew you, what a fighter you were.

"This isn’t goodbye, it’s a see you later, wee man. You will never be forgotten in my heart."

Corey was also a scout with the 45th Belfast Scout Group, which meets in the Immanuel Church of Ireland in Ardoyne. 

The group said: "This is extremely sad news and the thoughts and prayers of everyone connected to the 45th are with his family at this heart-breaking time.

“Corey will be fondly remembered by his Beaver Leaders as being fun-loving, always smiling and full of enthusiasm. We will miss him so much.

“Beaver parents have already been informed. Pastoral support has kindly been offered by our District Commissioner so if you feel a leader or young person would like to avail of this, please let me know.”

Local DUP councillor Dale Pankhurst said he was "deeply saddened" to hear that young Corey has passed away.

"He was a real wee character who was always full of life any time I saw him," he said.

"My deepest sympathies must go to Leanne, Colin, Jay, Darci, and the wider family circle. A heartbreaking tragedy."