Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
A garda dive unit during the search in Glandore Bay Julien Behal/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Tit Bonhomme
Dozens of volunteer divers join search for missing fishermen
Around 50 independent divers have joined the search for two missing men, after the wife of one made an emotional appeal.
DOZENS OF VOLUNTEER divers have joined the search effort for two fishermen missing after the Tit Bonhomme trawler sank off the Cork coast almost two weeks ago.
There was an “overwhelming response” from the public after the wife of skipper Michael Hayes appealed yesterday for help finding him in the waters of Glandore Bay, a Coast Guard spokesperson said.
The spokesperson told TheJournal.ie that today was the “biggest day yet” in the search, with fifty independent divers joining garda and naval dive teams, as well as numerous other volunteers searching the shoreline.
A Waterford-based Coast Guard helicopter is also involved in the search this afternoon. Bad weather has hampered the search effort since the Tit Bonhomme sank on January 15, but conditions today are good.
It’s expected that search co-ordinators will meet tonight and tomorrow night to determine the future of the operation if the men are not found.
Three bodies have been found since the accident: Kevin Kershaw, Wael Mohammed and Attia Shaban. Still missing are skipper Michael Hayes and crew member Saied Ali Eldin.
Wael’s brother Abdou Mohammed was the only person to survive the wreck.
have your say