Five dead in trawler tragedy

A YOUNG man who was on his first fishing trawler trip is among five men feared drowned after their boat sank within sight of home yesterday.

A massive sea and air search operation is due to resume in Glandore Harbour in West Cork at first light this morning for the missing crew of the Tit Bonhomme, a 69ft twin rig trawler which struck rocks and sank at the mouth of the harbour early yesterday.

One crew member, Egyptian national Mohammed Add Elgwad, 40, was airlifted to Cork University Hospital (CUH) and is recovering after he managed to scramble on to the shore of Adam’s Island.

But his five crewmates are missing, feared drowned.

They are skipper, Michael Hayes, 52, a married father-of-four from Helvick, Co Waterford; Kevin Kershaw, 21, originally from Dublin, but who had been living with an aunt in Clonakilty for the last seven years; the survivor’s brother, Weal Add Elgwad, and his countrymen Said Ali Eldien, 26, and Zhaban Farrg, 26.

Mr Hayes’s brother, Chief Superintendent Tom Hayes, spent yesterday on the pier waiting for news with relatives and friends of the other missing men.

“We are devastated, but we are also aware that there are other families here who have lost loved ones,” he said.

Mr Kershaw’s extended family, including his aunt and cousins, also maintained a vigil as his parents made their way from Dublin.

One of his cousins said Kevin was really interested in a life at sea. “He was always interested in the fishing business and he just decided to head out on Thursday night.

“It’s just desperate. We’re all devastated. But we’re going to stay here until he is found.”

The Egyptians, who are all from the Alexandria region, had been living in the Skibbereen area of Co Cork for seven years.

The Tit Bonhomme sank after it ran aground on Adam’s Island at the mouth of the harbour at around 5.30am. Weather conditions were poor at the time, with a force 6 or 7 wind and a heavy swell.

The alarm was raised just before 6am when a crew member dialled 999 and alerted Valentia coastguard that the ship was in trouble. A major rescue operation was mounted and coastguard helicopters from Waterford and Shannon, as well as lifeboat crews from Baltimore and Courtmacsherry, were scrambled.

The survivor was spotted by members of Toe Head coastguard unit on the shore of Adam’s Island and was airlifted by the Waterford helicopter crew to CUH, where his condition is stable. He is believed to have suffered a broken collarbone.

Local trawlers joined the search for the remaining crewmen through the day.

Lifeboat crew said only the tips of the Tit Bonhomme’s communications aerials were visible above the water on the northern shore of Adam’s Island.

A large debris field was visible in the area. A naval dive team arrived in the fishing village just before 5pm and is due to dive on the vessel this morning.

Gerard O’Flynn, the coastguard on-scene co-ordinator, said: “Michael is well-known and a well-respected fisherman. Union Hall is a close, tight-knit community, and the port has very high safety standards. This is just a shocking blowto everybody.”

Some wreckage, including the shredded remains of two life-rafts, have been recovered.

The Marine Casualty Investigation Board has launched an investigation to establish whether the vessel suffered engine failure and was blown onto Adam’s Island, or if a navigational error or weather conditions contributed to the disaster.

Marine Minister Simon Coveney met with relatives of the missing men in Union Hall yesterday.

Video: Search for five missing fishermen at Union Hall, Co Cork.