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An investigation into a fishing tragedy in which two people drowned off the coast of Donegal in July 2018 found that the crew had not planned the trip well enough and did not have an effective method of indicating danger on board.
The Marine Casualty Investigation Board report on the fatal incident off Portronan found that the boat’s engine failed and, while the crew was working on it, a wave washed away it.
When a crew member tried to make an emergency call on a UK mobile phone, another wave arrived and while the call was being made the phone fell into the water and there was no further contact from the crew.
Gerry ‘Malin’ Doherty, who was 60, and Thomas Weir, 16, lost their lives in the tragedy, and a third man in his 40s survived.
The MCIB investigation concluded that a mobile phone should not be relied upon as the primary method of contacting emergency services.
He said that it is essential that the use of VHF radio as the primary means of contacting emergency services is impressed by all boat owners, and that VHF radios should be used in all cases, even at competitive sailing events.
The report also noted that the restrictive procedures of the Emergency Call Response Service (ECAS) were not flexible enough in the situation.
“Because the information in the emergency call recording was not transferred shortly after 10:16 am, the victims were in the water for 5 hours. This increased the severity of the incident.”
Since the incident, MCIB says the Irish Coast Guard has protocols for handling emergency calls and ECAS has also updated the policies.
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