Donegal tragedy: ‘There is such a numbness about what happened’
Their bright bouquets of daffodils and tulips were in stark contrast to the grey cloudy skies which hung over Buncrana, reflecting the sombre mood of the Co Donegal town.
Locals walking on the sandy beach which leads on to the large pier spoke in hushed tones of their shock and horror about what unfolded just after sunset on what was a beautiful spring evening.
Nicole Denby, who travelled from Derry with her two children, said she felt compelled to pay tribute.
“I didn’t know the family at all but, I am a mum and I am just heartbroken,” she said wiping away tears from behind her sunglasses.
“I just can’t stop thinking about them.”
Others hugged each other at the garda cordon and gazed out over a calm Lough Swilly reflecting on yet one of the darkest days in history of the seaside resort.
One elderly woman from Buncrana said: “It was such a beautiful day, for something like this to happen — we just can’t take it in. My heart goes out to the family.”Interview with
Interview with Davitt Walsh, who saved baby Rionaghac-Ann in yesterday’s tragedy in Buncrana https://t.co/a228dN4yDu
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 21, 2016
Meanwhile, rescuers who had battled against time and the odds to try and save the stricken family also returned to the scene with heavy hearts. Joe Joyce, from Lough Swilly RNLI, said some members were being offered counselling.
“There were three people floating in the water. Each of the boats recovered a person from the water and commenced CPR and came back to shore and handed those casualties over to the emergency services.
“Once we located the car, one of our members put on a snorkel and entered the water and recovered a further two bodies.
“There is just a numbness about what happened. Such a simple thing. It is very, very hard to take it all in. Whilst we train for this nothing can prepare you for what happened yesterday evening.”
Earlier, a witness described how he watched the driver of the car, Sean McGrotty, scream for help as it slid off a pier, killing five people including Mr McGrotty, 49, his sons Mark, 12, and Evan, 8, his mother-in-law Ruth Daniels, 59, and Ms Daniels’ daughter Jodie Lee Daniels, who was 14.
Francis Crawford was with his wife in Buncrana in Co Donegal when the tragedy unfolded at around 7.30pm on Sunday.
He called 999 and pleaded with another man, Davitt Walsh, who was on the shore overlooking Lough Swilly to swim out to the car after the driver begged for help.
Mr McGrotty’s four-month-old baby daughter Rionaghac-Ann was saved by Mr Walsh, and is said to be in a stable condition in hospital.
“The man was still shouting to me when the car went down. It was very sad,” said Mr Crawford.
“There was nothing I could do or nothing anybody could do. Any of the people who could do something were coming as quick as they could and got here in great time and knew what to do.
“But it was all too late. There was nothing anybody could do. Everybody did what they could and it was too late.”
Gardaí are treating the incident as an accident.
The Audi car driven by Mr McGrotty is believed to have been turning at the end of the pier in Buncrana when the wheels failed to grip.
The slipway structure, used by vehicles to access a ferry back and forth across Lough Swilly to Rathmullan in the summer, is prone to a build-up of thick algae.
Mr Crawford said the man who swam out to the car was a hero and risked his own life. He stripped down to his underwear and swam to the Northern Ireland-registered sports utility type vehicle as it drifted off the slipway.
“How he got [the baby] ... they are saying it was handed out to him.
“When he came back he was totally exhausted. I think if he had another five yards to go — I can’t see how he would have made it.”
A major air and sea rescue mission was mounted by the Irish Coast Guard, gardaí and emergency services after the alarm was raised.
Two lifeboats, a helicopter and local fishing boats were involved in the efforts.
Mr Crawford broke down in tears recalling the final moments. “It was harrowing and heart-rending.
“Feeling hopeless and helpless. Nothing you could do and the man [driver] was shouting to me, and I said ‘I’ve phoned them, everyone is on their way’ and he was still shouting.
“You felt so hopeless and you watched it unfolding in front of your eyes. It was a surreal sort of thing.”
Mr Crawford remained on the scene after the car sank and said he saw one body in the water between where the vehicle sank and the slipway.
Another could be seen floating further out from shore and a “smaller image” was visible out in the water.
“You couldn’t just jump out of the car with children in it and leave them,” he said.
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