‘Our life jackets saved us from fishing boat fireball’
Gerry Walsh, who was seconds from being burned alive, has praised the emergency services and local boat owners who rushed to help.
“I was so impressed with how many ordinary people came to help us,” he said.
Mr Walsh will speak of his near-death experience as part of RTÉ’s Search and Rescue TV show which will be broadcast tomorrow. It will feature dramatic footage of the inferno and rescue.
Mr Walsh, 59, from Gurranabraher, Alan O’Mahony, 43, and Gerald O’Sullivan, both from Cork, were forced to jump overboard after Mr O’Sullivan’s 21ft boat exploded during a fishing trip on Jul 21, 2011.
They had set off from Aghada around 5pm but as they motored towards Roche’s Point, they noticed the main engine overheating. They switched to the auxiliary outboard motor, and continued fishing, before shutting it down to allow the boat drift back with the tide.
But disaster struck just before 8.30pm as they hit choppy water off Fort Carlisle. They turned the main engine on to move to calmer waters.
“It was running for about 30 seconds and didn’t sound right,” Mr Walsh said. “We turned it off but it was still running. Then we heard a massive bang, and the boat shook from side to side. I thought we were finished.
“I could hear noises coming from under the engine cover, and within a minute, there was a massive burst of smoke and flame that just missed my shoulder.”
Mr Walsh jumped overboard seconds before a wall of flame swept through the vessel. His life jacket inflated as he hit the water.
Mr O’Mahony also jumped overboard but his life jacket failed to inflate. Mr O’Sullivan remained on the bow of the burning vessel and helped to inflate Mr O’Mahony’s vest. He waited until the last moment to jump overboard.
Several vessels nearby spotted the smoke and rushed to help.
* Ireland’s Search and Rescue will be broadcast on RTÉ One at 6.30pm tomorrow.
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