Francis Crawford who was an eyewitness to the Buncrana pier tragedy. PIC BY BBC
AN eyewitness to last night’s Buncrana pier tragedy said he felt “helpless” as the car containing five people from Derry plunged below the water line.
A two-month-old baby was rescued after it was apparently handed out a window of the car by the occupants to a man who swam to their aid.
All five were from Derry’s Galliagh area and had been enjoying a family day out in Buncrana when the tragedy struck.
The dead included a woman in her 50s, who is orginally from Shantallow, her teenage daughter, the male driver and his two children.
It is now believed the male driver of the Audi Q7 4 X 4 was trying to turn the vehicle when it slipped on algae.
Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle this morning, eyewitness Francis Crawford said: “I phoned 999, I explained there was a car in the water and there’s a family in it that’s going to be sinking.
“A fella came over and I asked him if he could swim, he stripped off to his underwear and headed out and it was great that he did.
“He was totally exhausted, I think if he had another five yards to go I don’t see how he could have made it.
“He was shouting ‘grab the baby, grab the baby’. He was taken to hospital, he was cut and different things but very heroic and he saved the wee baby’s life.”
“All the time the car was bobbling about,” Mr Crawford said, “and I was hoping against hope that the car would stay up until the people came.
“I was watching the car and the nose of it started to dip and then all of a sudden the whole car just went down nose first and everything stopped. It was harrowing and heart wrenching… feeling hopeless and helpless, nothing you can do.”
The rescued baby is currently in a stable condition in Letterkenny Hospital.
With the help of all the emergency services, the Audi car was recovered from the water around 9 pm.
Emergency services at the scene last night’s tragedy in Buncrana, Co Donegal
