Friends pay tribute to Bahrain capsize victim

Colleagues tonight paid tribute to the Irish man who drowned when a tourist boat sank off the coast of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf.

Derek Cunningham, 52, and his Thai wife Orathai, are among the 57 confirmed dead who perished when the al-Dana vessel capsized less than 1.5km off the coast last night.

The couple leave two young children, aged seven and 11.

The Drogheda man also has a 20-year-old son called Dominic from a previous marriage.

He was due to start work with his father this week and only learned of the tragic accident when intercepted in Dublin Airport this morning shortly before he was due to board a plane to Bahrain.

Mr Cunningham worked for Mercury Engineering and was electrical construction manager for the World Trade Centre project in Bahrain.

Dominic, his mother Jane – Mr Cunningham’s first wife – and other family members are expected to fly out tomorrow to make funeral arrangements.

Colleagues at Mercury Engineering, both in Dublin and Bahrain, are saddened and shocked by the tragedy.

“Derek was very well liked by staff who worked for him and was a very good manager from the company’s perspective,” said Gerry Morrissey, group financial director.

“He did a good job for us and we were very proud of him.

“It’s a tragic situation for the company to be in, to lose an employee. The directors wish to express their condolences not only to the relatives of Derek and Orathai but to all those who lost their lives in the incident.”

Mr Morrissey said other contractors from the company were due to attend the party on board, but had decided against it on the night.

Most of the 150 passengers on the vessel were foreigners from construction firms.

The dead includes 17 Indians and 12 Britons, as well as nationals from Pakistan, South Africa, the Philippines, Singapore and Germany. In total, 67 people were rescued from the sea, with 13 still missing.

Bahraini officials say it is still too early to say what caused the boat to overturn in calm seas not far from the shore.

“Fortunately, Derek was the only one our employees on board,” Mr Morrissey added.

“None of our other employees ventured onto the craft.

“I got a call around 7am to inform me there was a possibility we had lost one of our employees. I was informed by our project director for that region who was home in Ireland, he got the information from his project manager who should have been on the boat last night, but he had decided against it because he doesn’t like water.”

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, earlier expressed his sympathy with Mr Cunningham’s family.

An official from the Irish Embassy in Saudi Arabia is assisting authorities in Bahrain.