Aussie man and daughter found clinging to esky in fatal boating tragedy
A Queensland man and his teenage daughter have survived a tragic boating incident that claimed the life of another man on Wednesday morning.
The surviving male, identified by media as Richard Clayton, and his 16-year-old daughter Karla were spotted clinging to an esky in waters off Cleveland, southeast of Brisbane, after the boat they were in capsized.
The pair were out crabbing near the Redlands Boat Club ramp with Mr Clayton's best friend, TJ, when it's believed their boat — a 4.6m runabout — overturned and sunk, Queensland Police said. But it was sometime later that authorities were notified after a member of the public spotted them floating in the water.
The incident occurred at around 9am, according to reports, with authorities responding at approximately 11.30am. The trio were about 200 metres offshore when the tinny capsized, Nine News reported, and continued to drift about five kilometres in the water.
"It was a little swell, picking up our second last crab pot, boat starts taking on water. Next minute we know we're under the water," Mr Clayton told Nine News.
Man spotted floating in the water
One witness said they saw "someone bobbing in the water". "It didn’t look like he was swimming or fighting any sort of currents, (he was) just sort of drifting," the told Seven News.
"They were probably just having a nice day on the water, when they capsized and ended up floating away."
Mr Clayton and his daughter eventually swam to shore but TJ never made it. The 45-year-old Riverview man died at the scene, police said. Paramedics attended shortly after at around 12.07pm, a spokesperson confirmed to Yahoo News Australia.
"A male in his 40s and a high school-aged female with minor injuries were transported to Redlands Hospital in stable conditions," they said.
Karla told the Courier Mail she didn't think she would make it. "I was just thinking what’s going to happen to me. I didn’t even think I was going to make it," she said.
Mr Clayton said he was concerned for his daughter's safety. "I just kept thinking 'where is she? where is she?" he told Nine News from hospital. Redland Bay Water Police remain at the scene to recover the vessel. A report will be prepared for the Coroner.
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