Irishman dies in accident at sea

AN IRISH resident of Cyprus yesterday drowned after falling out of his boat in strong winds just half a nautical mile off the shore of the Xira area in the Famagusta district.

Thomas Terence Roberts, 72, was declared dead on arrival at hospital yesterday.

The other man in the boat, who had also fallen into the water, Briton David Parnell, 54, escaped unharmed.

Both men were living in Cyprus.

According to police, the coast guard received a call at 12.15pm from the captain of a passenger boat, who informed them that a small boat was in distress and that one of the men in the boat was unconscious.

A police vessel was dispatched to the area, and officers tried to resuscitate the 72-year-old.

A police officer at Paralimni police station yesterday said that “early investigations appear to show that strong winds tipped the boat, hurling both men into the water.

Although Parnell managed to get Roberts back into the boat, Roberts remained unconscious.”

He was rushed to Paralimni hospital where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

An autopsy will take place on Monday morning so as to determine the exact cause of death.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.