Car plunged off Irish pier

[Lamu]

Really awful, harrowing report just now on the bbc. A passer by managed to save a 3 month old baby.

[GobbolinoCat]

This has always been a fear of mine, ever since my DF nearly drove us off a harbour in St Ives...poor poor peole and poor baby

[LizKeen]

Its absolutely heartbreaking. Its one of my biggest fears. I have had many nightmares about this. My anxiety is up today thinking about this.

I cannot imagine the panic they were going through. If only they had been able to get out when they first realised they were in trouble. Terrible terrible tragedy.

[Lamu]

I can't even bring myself to imagine the sheer horror they must have felt. The poor chap who was a bystander and called the emergency services gave such a harrowing account. Really do feel for their relatives and that poor baby.

[Lamu]

That's what crossed my mind. If only they'd been able to at least get seat belts off and open a door. But I'm guessing these things happen so fast.

[LizKeen]

Yep. Panic can just freeze people and I guess if their kids were strapped in they couldn't get them out but didn't want to leave them. Oh its just awful.

[QueenElizardbeth]

I suppose you just freeze don't you.

Who knows...I mean looking at that situation you think, get the belts off, get the windows open, get everyone out.

It seems they managed to hand the baby to the chap in the water. At least she is alive.

[DonkeyOaty]

Ghastly news

[CiderwithBuda]

Completely horrific and heartbreaking.

A woman has lost her partner, two sons, mother and teenage sister. I can't get it out of my head this morning.

[Cleebope]

Been crying about this today, know the area well. The mum was in England on a hen weekend and had just spoken to her boys on the phone when they played in Buncrana park. So terrifying. The guy who rescued the baby is a real hero. God rest their souls.

[Lamu]

I can't get over the bystanders account on the news this morning. The noise from within the car stopped, as it disappeared beneath the surface. Awful. Just awful. Poor little ones.

[Cleebope]

Beautiful young girl same age as my own DD, beautiful family. Poor, poor dad, making such a small but horrific error of judgement. The jetty should have been a no go area.

[Onamissionfor2015]

I can't get my head around the fact not one of them managed to get out? ( Apart from the baby seemingly through a window)

The children were not infants so probably not in 5 point harnesses so why did they not manage to open doors/ Windows and take there chances in the water?

In new cars that are mostly electrics is this not possible?

I'm not meaning this in any bad way at all and certainly not placing blame with the adults, I just can't get my head around how it happens.

Those poor poor people and the poor woman who has lost so many family members in one go after what must have been a lovely family day out.

[LizKeen]

DH and I were just saying the same Ona. Maybe it all happened so fast, but if the window was down and they had time to pass the baby out. I don't know. You think/hope you would do certain things in that situation, but we really don't know.

[WipsGlitter]

I think two did get out but were dragged down by their clothes. One child was disabled possibly used wheelchair so that would have been very difficult. That poor woman - mum, husband, sister and children all gone.

[Lamu]

I normally don't post on this topic but i too really struggled to understand Ona such a tragedy all round.

Having thought about it, I presume in a case where a car becomes submerged the electics would fail, you then wouldn't be able to open the windows. And the pressure of the surrounding water may make the doors impossible to open?

[MakingJudySmile]

The baby was passed through a window, then the car fully sunk.

Doors, even if unlocked, can't be opened when a car is sinking, electric windows won't open in water.

The rescuer of the baby believes the dad moved back into the car and didn't escape himself because there was no time to save anyone else and the father returned to his boys.

[QueenElizardbeth]

Not to cast aspersions about what may have happened, but if you ever do find yourself approaching water in a vehicle then you must open the windows and if possible the doors before it goes under, for exactly that reason - the electrics may fail, and the water pressure will prevent doors from being opened.

Ours have hand winder windows in the back, which ought to work I think, but I doubt the electric ones in the front would.

It's easy to say in hindsight, but it is a mystery why none of them managed to get out.

[QueenElizardbeth]

Perhaps he went back to try and get them out, but couldn't

[MakingJudySmile]

It isn't a 'mystery' it happened quickly.

[QueenElizardbeth]

Ok, I wasn't there - but from the news report, it came across as having happened quite slowly and the witness speaking to the driver as the car was entering the water.

I will stop commenting as I feel disrespectful doing so.

[ScarletForYa]

God help them, the poor Mother. The loss is so huge, her two boys, her DP, her Mother and her sister. It's beyond belief.

[MakingJudySmile]

If you need to understand how:

‘Save my baby’: Buncrana father went back into car to try to rescue his family
jrnl.ie/2672954

[QueenElizardbeth]

Thank you

and I'm so sorry

[lborolass]

That's just so sad, I hadn't known that the father was out of the car,

[MakingJudySmile]

I might have come across as a bit snippy to you there Queen. But I'd just listened to the rescuer speaking on the news - I'm Ireland - and was feeling emotive when I read your post, but I obviously knew more than you could so should have been short with you.

It's very heart wrenching