Tag Archives: Ruben McDornan
‘My heart has been broken’: Sole survivor of trawler tragedy which left six fishermen dead breaks his silence
The sole survivor of the Queensland trawler tragedy which left six young fishermen dead has broken his silence in an emotional tribute to his late friends. Ruben McDornan, 32, was one of seven men aboard cucumber trawler Dianne when it capsized in treacherous seas off the town of Seventeen Seventy last month. The bodies of Adam Hoffman and Ben Leahy were found in the sunken boat five days after the desperate search began. Four men, Adam Bidner, Chris Sammut, Eli Tonks and Zach Feeney, have not been found. click here to read the story 10:58
Cairns remembers mateship of seven men aboard F/V Dianne
Mateship. The word stood one metre high in white across the stage at Cairns’ Munro Martin Parklands, where the community gathered to reflect on the bond of seven mates from slug boat Dianne, while local singer Andrea Mullens sung Stand by Me, Hallelujah, Candle in the Wind and The Sailor’s Hymn.,, Speaking to hundreds of people gathered for the community reflection on Tuesday night, Dianne’s second crew skipper Adam Kelly, who was not on the boat that day, said he was thankful and privileged to have spent time with his mates. “They’ll always be legends in my eyes – every single one of them,” he said. click here to read the story 10:28
The Agnes Water/1770 Community Fundraiser for the “Families & Children of FV Dianne”
The Agnes Water/1770 Community has set this fund up on behalf of the families of Cairns based fishermen Adam Bidner, Zachary Feeney, Adam Hoffman, Ben Leahy, Chris Sammut, Eli Tonks and Ruben McDornan off the fishing vessel “FV Dianne” which tragically sunk during wild storms off the Central Coast of Queensland last week. Seven families have been affected by this tragedy. Six husbands fathers and sons have been lost in the most tragic of circumstances, with only one survivor who was rescued in tretcherous seas after fighting for his life in the wildest conditions imaginable. The purpose of this fund is to help ease the financial burden that these families have now incurred through this tragedy. click here to donate 11:00
F/V Dianne – Four fishermen still missing after second day of police searches
Police divers have been unable to find any of the four missing crew members after a second day scouring sunken fishing trawler Dianne off the central Queensland coast. Gladstone Patrol Inspector Darren Somerville said divers cleared the vessel and its immediate surroundings of debris but could not find any find any sign of the four fishermen. “Obviously the timeframe for survival expired some time ago, and that timeframe was whether they were in the vessel or even if they were in the water,” he said. click here to read the story 12:03
Two bodies recovered from sunken F/V Dianne, debris hampering police diver search
Police divers could only spend 13 minutes underwater at a time on Saturday and the last dive was conducted about 4.30pm. The police vessel Conroy was expected to bring the bodies back to Gladstone for formal identification on Saturday night, before heading back out to guard the scene until the morning. “We’re still clearing debris from the wheelhouse and just starting to get below,” Inspector Somerville said. click here to read the story 08:40
Reunion for trawler survivor as search moves from rescue to recovery
Ruben McDornan, so far the only survivor from a sunken trawler with seven on board, has had an emotional reunion with his wife and mother at Gladstone Airport, after being plucked from the rough seas by a passing yacht on Tuesday morning. Police have conceded it would be “a miracle” to find any of the other six missing fishermen alive, with the search and rescue moving towards a “recovery” operation on Thursday. “Our thoughts are with the boys missing at the moment because they’re all like family,” Ms McDornan said through tears. click here to read the story 08:54
