ONE of the men who attempted to help the Buncrana pier victims has said he is still receiving counselling to cope with the trauma.
A month’s mind Mass for the McGrotty and Daniels families will be held at Holy Family Church in Derry on Wednesday night.
Buncrana man Francis Crawford was the first to react when Sean McGrotty shouted for help as his car slid into the water on March 20.
Mr McGrotty (49) and his sons Mark (12) and Evan (8) died along with their mum Louise James's mother Ruth Daniels (57) and sister Jodie-Lee Daniels (14).
The family had been enjoying a Sunday out in Co Donegal when tragedy struck.
Mr Crawford was visiting the pier with his wife Kay when they heard the cries for help and immediately called the emergency services.
The retired Buncrana salesman also asked passer-by Davitt Walsh to swim to the car to help.
Mr Walsh, from Kerrykeel, managed to save the youngest member of the McGrotty family, four-month-old baby Rioghanagh-Ann.
A month on from the tragedy, Mr Crawford said he is still attending his doctor and receiving counselling to deal with the tragedy.
He said he could not imagine what Ms James was going through as she attempts to deal with her loss.
“I know I’m remembering this every day but Louise lost her mother, partner, sister and children. Whatever I and my wife, Kay are going through it’s insignificant when compared to what Louise is suffering,” he said.
Since the tragedy, Mr Crawford has been contacted by people throughout the world keen to share their thoughts about what happened.
“At times there’ve been people, strangers, stopping me in the street to talk about it and even to give me a hug and I’ve had letters from as far away as Canada and America.
"It struck a chord with people because of the suddenness and speed with which it happened.
"It was just in the click of a finger that the car went from the pier to the water and that family was virtually wiped out."
Mr Crawford and his wife – who also witnessed the tragedy – still visit the pier in the evenings.
“I’ve always been doing this; I live only two minutes away from the pier," he said.
"Sometimes we just go down to sit and watch the Swilly and to listen to the water. Sometimes I turn the car off and listen to the water lapping, it can be very soothing, but then you look round and the flowers are there and the shrine to the family is there and you think back to what happened."
Mr Crawford stressed that he and his wife were not feeling sorry for themselves but they were struggling to come to terms with what they witnessed.
“The day after I went to the pier because I wanted to let people know what happened, I felt I had to say what I saw, but now I think it’s time to take a step backwards and to give everyone space."
He added that he had stayed in touch with Ms James and her family and hoped to attend Wednesday’s month’s mind Mass.
It comes as it emerged that life-saving equipment remains broken at the pier. A missing lifebelt has not yet been replaced and its broken holder has not been repaired.
Meanwhile, in a reminder of the dangers of slipways, a car and driver in his sixties were rescued on the banks of Lough Foyle in Derry on Tuesday.
Road workers attached a rope from a lorry to the car to pull it to safety as it slid into water at Culmore Point.
