THREE MEN died off the west Cork coast yesterday after a fire broke out on their motor cruiser.
A fourth man on board the 25ft motor cruiser survived. The four had been sea angling. It is understood that they attempted to fight the blaze with a fire extinguisher but were unsuccessful.
The incident occurred at about 5pm yesterday off Castletownbere, Co Cork, when the fire broke out on a console behind the steering wheel.
The Irish Coast Guard has no record of a mayday alert being picked up, but smoke was sighted from shore. All four on board had taken to the water south of Roancarrig lighthouse in Berehaven, when the Irish Coast Guard’s Waterford-based helicopter and RNLI arrived on the scene.
Three of the four were pronounced dead on landing ashore.
The fourth man, who is believed to have attempted to fight the fire, was taken by ambulance to hospital for treatment. His injuries were not believed to be serious.
Names had not been released last night until relatives had been informed, but local reports suggested that one of the three who died was Irish and two were German, all living in Glengariff. The survivor is a US national who has been living in Glengariff for some time.
Weather conditions were said to be good, but foggy. The Irish Coast Guard’s Waterford-based helicopter was on the scene within minutes of being alerted as it had been called out earlier to search for a father and daughter said to be missing on Hungry Hill, and was on a local helipad waiting for the fog to clear.
RNLI Castletownbere volunteer and spokesman Paul Stevens said the lifeboat crew, under coxswain Michael Martin Sullivan, remained at the scene with the vessel. However, the stricken cruiser sank within about 40 minutes of the rescue.
Fine Gael councillor Noel Harrington said people were deeply shocked when news broke of the tragedy.
“They went out for a day’s angling in what is generally regarded as a safe place and on such a calm day. It has deeply shocked everyone,” he said last night.
The Marine Casualty Investigation Board is due to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.