Anxious wait in search for bodies of fishing family

A painstaking search for the bodies of three members of a fishing family was continuing tonight.

Members of the Greene family from Kilkeel, Co Down, sat by the telephone hoping that two months of agony would be ended with final confirmation that their loved ones have been located.

Police divers have spent the day carefully searching the wreck of the fishing boat the Tullaghmurry Lass, in dark icy waters 140ft below the surface.

Michael Greene, his son and eight-year-old grandson, both also called Michael perished when their fishing boat sank seven miles from their home port of Kilkeel on February 14.

The family’s hopes of being able to lay them to rest were raised yesterday when police said they believed there were bodies on the wreck.

Alex Slater from the Fisherman’s Mission in Kilkeel, who spoke to the family today, said they were relieved that the long wait could finally be over.

‘‘They have had to go through the bereavement process. At least if the bodies are brought back it will help start the healing process.’’

He said the family had just began coming to terms with their loss when the boat was found last month.

‘‘It brought a lot of it back but there is a sense of relief now that there could be light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel.

‘‘They are hoping and praying that by tonight there is some closure,’’ he added.

The diving team was hoping to confirm how many bodies are on board but with visibility just one metre, they have to get as close to the vessel as possible.

The team led by Sergeant Elvin Leech were also trying to work out how to bring the bodies to the surface.

‘‘It’s very dangerous down there. The bottom is so uneven and they aren’t aware that there is anything underneath them until their feet touch the deck,’’ said a police spokesman.

Divers resumed the search at first light this morning but police have warned the family it could be some time before recoveries are made because of the danger to divers due to the condition of the vessel.

Mr Slater said the loss of three generations of the one family has had a profound effect on the tight-knit fishing community.

‘‘It’s very, very important for everyone here in Kilkeel, for the fishermen themselves, that the bodies are brought back.

‘‘Every time they go out and shoot a net, it’s in the back of their minds that three of their colleagues are out in the sea,’’ he added.