Accused 'pushed deceased', then fell from ship

A man on trial for the murder of his Naval Service crewmate told gardai he pushed the deceased into the chest who then went over the side of the ship and drowned, the Central Criminal Court heard today.

"He was struggling with me, he was kind of slapping out at me. I was trying to defend myself and I pushed him back hard into the chest and he went into the water", the accused told gardai.