Fishermen could not save drowning friend

FISHERMEN in Waterford last night told of their desperate attempts to save the life of their friend after he slipped and fell from their boat late on Wednesday night.

As the Irish coast guard intensified their searches yesterday, it emerged that the missing elderly fisherman cried out for his friends just moments before disappearing into the dark waters of Dunmore East.

He was named locally as Paddy McCabe, 62, a father-of-four with an address in Dundalk, Co Louth.

He was with three other men in a mussel dredger, the Boyne Harvester, just before midnight on Wednesday. It is believed all three had invested in a mussel bed in the area.

While he was at the vessel’s stern checking the boat’s dredger, the man leaned over the side. He is believed to have slipped and fallen overboard. His two friends immediately heard the splash and rushed to help their fellow fisherman.

“They tried to get a line to him,” said one involved in the search.

Both men threw out a lifeline from the vessel. As they worked to save the man in distress, he called out their names. They in turn, called out his. It is understood the struggling man then went under.

Though the waters at the time were described as calm, they were cold, said locals.

A distress call was received from the Boyne Harvester at 11.48pm and he was reported missing off Creadan Head, Co Waterford.

Lifeboats and search vessels immediately raced from Dunmore East and Fethard-On-Sea. A Sikorsky rescue helicopter based at Waterford Airport was also called into use.

With the tide going out last night, the search was called off. Divers were preparing to head out to Creaden Head near the bay to search.

“The dive is due to go ahead at 2pm,” explained a Naval Service press officer.

It is believed the missing man’s family have travelled from Dundalk to Dunmore East and joined in the search.