Co Down fishermen 'lucky to be alive'

Published Wednesday, 24 October 2012

The captain of a fishing boat which sank off the coast of Co Down has told UTV about the dramatic moment the Snowdonia started to go down - pulling a crewman entangled in a rope with it.

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Captain Stephen Kearney, who has been fishing for nearly 20 years, and another man were on board the vessel on Tuesday when it began taking on water and they were forced to head for Ardglass.

"We just went up on a wave and the back of the boat went into the water and she just never come back - she just went down that quick," Stephen explained.

While another fishing boat, the Tribute, was nearby and went to the rescue, Stephen's fellow fisherman had already become entangled in a rope attached to the boat.

"A split second and you had to react," the captain said, describing how fast the sinking and the rescue effort all happened.

Both men are lucky to be alive, with Stephen recalling how the strong tides kept pushing them away from the boat that was trying to save them. Both men spent 10mins in the water.

They were airlifted to hospital by the Irish coastguard.

Stephen knows how lucky they are to be alive but, while he will be taking some time off to recover fully, he plans to be back fishing within weeks.

And he's very grateful to their rescuers, who he credits with saving their lives.