Friends’ desperate bid to save man swept to sea off Donegal coast - Donegal Daily

The valiant, heartbreaking efforts of two friends to attempt to save their friend, who was swept out to sea and died off the west Donegal coast, were recalled a...

The valiant, heartbreaking efforts of two friends to attempt to save their friend, who was swept out to sea and died off the west Donegal coast, were recalled at an inquest.

Valerri Strunhar was fishing with friends at Marameelan, near Dungloe, when a large wave took hold of him on September 2, 2024.

His last moments were outlined at the inquest, which heard how two of his friends attempted to pull him ashore using a fishing rod.

The inquest was heard by Donegal coroner Dr Denis McCauley at Letterkenny courthouse.

Mr Strunhar, who was 61 when he died, had fled war-town Ukraine and was based in Gweedore, where he became a popular figure as he cycled with his beloved fishing rods in tow.

Garda Sergeant Mark Colgan said Mr Strunhar was well known around the Gweedore area. He would often have been spotted on his bicycle and he fished daily.

“He didn’t have much English, but he fitted in lovely,” Sergeant Colgan said. “He was fishing mad.”

On the day in question, Mr Strunhar - who usually fished in the Gweedore area - went to the Marameelan area of Dungloe in the company of two friends.

A deposition of Mr Dmytro Boldyrev was read into the inquest. He recalled how the trio left Bunbeg between 3-4pm to go to Marameelan. The water was calm in Bunbeg, but Mr Boldyrev was surprised how windy it was when they got to their destination.

“The waves were quite high,” he said. His deposition recalled how the men walked around 1km to the cliffs after parking at the pier.

Mr Boldyrev said the sea was “high” and hit the rock. He walked to the bay area, where it was “a little calmer”.

He said Mr Strunhar was catching some mackerel and was shouting to his friends that he had made a catch.

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However, the day took a fatal turn when a huge wave swept Mr Strunhar into the sea.

“The wave covered all of him,” Mr Boldyrev’s deposition said. “Before my eyes, Valerri was washed away to the shore.”

The other man clung onto a rock and was helped to safety while Mr Boldyrev had his legs covered by the water.

The two men then tied a weight to the line and threw it towards the stricken Mr Strunhar, who caught the line and tied it around his body. The men tried in vain to pull their friend ashore with the rod while Mr Strunhar also attempted to swim.

Mr Boldyrev sought the help of a local fisherman, who ran to their aid and also called the emergency services. Mr Boldyrev obtained a rope from the other fisherman’s quad, but it was too short to reach Mr Strunhar.

“We kept encouraging Valerri and we could hear the helicopter coming,” he remembered.

“Suddenly and very quickly, he disappeared before our eyes,” Mr Boldyrev said.

After a short period of time, the crew in the Coast Guard helicopter located Mr Strunhar’s body and he was winched into the chopper. His friends were unsure if he was still alive.

Having established that Mr Strunhar was taken to Letterkenny University Hospital, the men went to get his wife and they drove to the hospital. A short time later, they were informed that Mr Strunhar had passed away.

A deposition from Garda Josephine Nic Ghionntaigh said that she attended the emergency department at the hospital and the body of Mr Strunhar was identified by his wife.

The inquest heard evidence from a doctor, whose deposition said that Mr Strunhar’s body showed evidence of a mild heart disease, but this was an “incidental finding”.

While there were abrasions on his body consistent with contact with rocks, there was no evidence of injury or a significant pre-existing natural disease. Both of his lungs were enlarged and there were no drugs or alcohol in his body at the time of death.

Dr McCauley said that the finding was that Mr Strunhar had died of drowning and it was an accidental death.

“It was a terrible, tragic event,” Dr McCauley said. “He was someone who was getting excited at the time and sharing his joy when a wave just took him.”