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The search continued for 26 days until all six crewmen were accounted for. Julien Behal/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Sea Tragedy
President to pay tribute to lost fishermen
Michael D Higgins will also recognise the trojan efforts of the people of Union Hall during the extensive sea search last January.
MICHAEL D HIGGINS is in Cork today for a special ceremony to remember the five fishermen lost at sea when their trawler, Tit Bonhomme, sank near Glandore Harbour in the early hours of 15 January.
The President will also pay tribute to the people of Union Hall for their efforts during the extensive sea search, including the support they provided to the victims’ families.
Dozens of volunteers joined the search for the missing fishermen, while other locals rallied to provide food, comfort and other assistance to people who gathered at the pier over the four-week period.
At the time, the Egyptian community in Cork praised the local people for their support and constant dedication to the 26-day-long search.
The bodies of Kevin Kershaw, Attia Shaban and Wael Mohammed were recovered in the days following the accident. The bodies of skipper Michael Hayes and crewman Saied Ali Eldin, however, were not discovered until the 8 and 10 February respectively. All the men who were on board the vessel were accounted for after the mammoth operation which included local boats, divers and helicopters. One man – Egyptian Mohammed Add Elgwad, brother of one of the victims – survived the tragedy.
Many of those who took part in the search will return to the pier for the 11am ceremony.
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