Efforts are continuing to recover the bodies of three missing fishermen after the bodies of two other crewmen who were lost when their trawler sank near the entrance to Glandore Harbour in west Cork were taken from the sea yesterday.
Divers have returned to the sunken Tit Bonhomme today and have made "the most significant progress to date" in assessing the vessel, according to a Coast Guard spokesman. Weather conditions have remained favourable at the site.
The Naval Service said multiple dives have been completed in the vicinity of the vessel and would continue into the evening under the supervision of the LE Niamh.
The service said in a statement it remained "acutely aware of the relatives, friends and loved ones of the missing men and the wider fishing community at this difficult time".
Initial exploratory investigations using side scan sonar and remotely operated vehicles have been completed on accessible compartments of the boat by the specialist diving team.
However, they expect a full examination of the vessel to take "a significant period of time".
The Coastguard has implemented a temporary exclusion zone in the immediate vicinity of the Tit Bonhomme and only specialist naval or Garda divers will be permitted to dive within this zone.
"Weather conditions remain challenging in the area but have not impacted on operations today and are not expected to change in the next forty eight hours," the Naval Service said.
The LE Niamh will remain on station as the coordinating vessel and as a maritime support platform for the diving operations.
Yesterday's search yielded a positive result when, at about 9.45am, divers from the Garda water unit recovered the body of Attea Shaban (26), an Egyptian crew member of the trawler Tit Bonhomme, which sank as it was about to enter its home port of Union Hall.
The discovery of Mr Shaban’s body within 30m of the wreck of the trawler on the western side of Adam Island led to hopes that other bodies might also be recovered. Those hopes proved warranted when the body of first-time fisherman Kevin Kershaw was found in the same area after midday.
The search operation being co-ordinated by the Irish Coast Guard and Naval Service continues today for the bodies of the skipper, father of five Michael Hayes (52) from Helvick Head, and Egyptian crew members Wael Mohamed (35) and his cousin, Said Mohamed (23).
Mr Shaban’s body was recovered in about 10m of water after divers had focused their efforts on an area where debris had drifted towards some rocks near where the trawler had sunk.
His body was brought ashore at Union Hall, where families of the missing men were waiting anxiously for news. There were emotional scenes as members of the Egyptian community grieved for Mr Shaban. He had come to Ireland as an asylum seeker two years ago and had carved out a life as a fishermen.
As Mr Shaban’s body was removed by hearse to Cork University Hospital for a postmortem yesterday, word came through that his 55-year-old mother had died suddenly in her sleep in Egypt on Saturday night – not knowing that her son had been lost at sea, while he had died without knowing of his mother’s passing.
Meanwhile, relatives of the other missing men continued to wait for news. Just before 1pm, it was confirmed that the body of Kevin Kershaw (21) had been found by the Naval Service dive team near the wreck of the trawler.
Mr Kershaw’s body was brought back to Union Hall by Naval Service personnel. His return was greeted with scenes of grief as his mother, Margaret Williamson, and many of his five siblings were comforted by relatives as they struggled to cope with the finality of the tragedy.
Mr Kershaw’s father, Patrick, who formally identified the body of his eldest son, later returned to the quayside as he said he wished to show his support for the families of the remaining missing men.
“Our hopes and prayers last night was that Kevin would return and he has returned in good condition – actually you would think he was only asleep,” he added. “I’ve heard stories of people who have had tragedies and they don’t get the bodies back, so it’s a good thing mixed with the sadness of the tragedy as well.
“My thoughts now are with the skipper’s family and the Egyptian families of the other two men.”
