Buncrana man describes attempts to rescue family as car slips from pier

A Buncrana man has described how he watched and hoped that the car which went into the water last night at the Donegal pier, would stay up until the rescue teams arrived.
The scene at Buncrana PierThe scene at Buncrana Pier
The scene at Buncrana Pier

Speaking to the BBC, Frances Crawford said another man from Kerrykeel, who saved the life of a little baby, was heroic.

Mr Crawford raised the alarm when he saw the car go into the water at around 7.30 on Sunday night.

He said the algae at the pier can be very slippy and at times like “ice.”

“A fella came along and I asked him ‘can you swim?’ He said yes, and I said ‘please, please’. He stripped to his underwear and came back with the baby which had been handed to him

“It was very heroic. He saved the baby’s life.

“I was hoping against hope that the car would stay up until the people came. The whole went down by the nose and everything stopped. I don’t want to go into detail on it.”

Former TD Padraig McLaughlin described the incident as a terrible tragedy.

“Our hearts are broken for everyone involved in the tragedy,” he said.

Gardai say a man, a woman, two boys and another female died when the car entered the water.

A baby girl was taken to Letterkenny Hospital where her condition is described as stable.

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