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.
‘This is the first time that I’ve felt like I can publicly speak about what had happened, and I can’t even find the words,’ Mr McDornan wrote on Facebook on Friday.
Ruben McDornan (second from right), the sole survivor of the Queensland trawler tragedy which claimed the lives of six young fishermen, 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
‘My heart has been broken. But like my great brothers have shown me your heart is just a muscle, and it needs to be torn and broken down to grow.’
The grieving fisherman sent his condolences to the victims’ families and said ‘thank you’ wasn’t enough to express his gratitude to those who supported him ‘along this horrible journey’.
He went on to praise his wife Sammy and said he heard her ‘nagging voice’ telling him to fight for his life as he spent nearly 12 hours in the water after the boat sunk.
‘My absolute rock, you are the reason I am here today, your nagging voice was always in my head yelling at me to keep going and not give up,’ he said.
The bodies of Adam Hoffman (right) and Ben Leahy (left) were found in the sunken boat five days after the desperate search began
The body of Eli Tonks, pictured with his fiancee Ana, has not been found despite the desperate search
The sole survivor broke his silence in an emotional Facebook post on Friday morning
‘I feel so lucky to have you and have what we share together, I feel a fire lit under me from my brothers and I can’t wait to see where our life will take us.
‘My heart might be broken at this time but it is big enough to hold all my brothers forever and always!’
Mr McDronan escaped the capsized vessel and desperately clung to the hull before it eventually sunk a few hours later.
Tragically he could hear his friends banging and screaming as they tried to get out, according to reports.
The grieving fisherman also sent his condolences to the victims’ families. Pictured is Adam Bidner, whose body hasn’t been found
Cucumber trawler Dianne (pictured) capsized off the town of Seventeen Seventy last month
Commercial fisherman Mal Priday and his wife Linda heard Mr McDornan’s desperate cries for help as he entered his eighth hour treading water in horrendous seas.
‘I’m not into hugging, but he gave me a hug I’ll never forget,’ Mr Priday told The New Daily.
Last Tuesday, hundreds of heartbroken mourners gathered to remember the six men at Munro Martin Parklands in Cairns.