A university professor who survived with his young son by clinging to a reef for hours after their fishing boat capsized, killing three people on board, has broken his silence.
Professor Danny Eckert, 44, and his son, 12, were on board the boat when it was hit by a strange 6.2 meter wave at around 4pm on Monday near Spilsby Island, about 40 kilometers off the coast of Port Lincoln in South Australia.
The others on board – his father Paul Eckert, 73, his brother Tom Eckert, 40, and family friend Alan Bottrill, 71 – sadly died.
Relatives raised the alarm at around 8.30pm after the ship failed to return to Port Lincoln, prompting a search and rescue operation that found the capsized ship and brought Professor Eckert and his son to safety at 2. A.M
“I wish to express my immense gratitude to the emergency services and everyone who assisted with the search and rescue efforts,” Professor Eckert said in a statement provided to the Adelaide Advertiser.
‘My sincere thanks to the medical staff at Port Lincoln and Women’s and Children’s Hospital who have provided us with exceptional care and support.
Professor Danny Eckert (pictured) and his 12-year-old son were found with non-life-threatening injuries after being clinging to a reef off Spilsby Island for around 10 hours.
The group was fishing near Spilsby Island off the coast of Port Lincoln, SA.
“I extend our sincere thanks to everyone, including the entire Port Lincoln community, who has offered their help, thoughts and prayers.”
Professor Eckert added that it was an “unimaginably difficult time” but found solace in the kindness shown by friends and locals.
Professor Eckert’s neighbor in Torrens Park, Adelaide, Noela Krahn, 74, said she believed he would have been holding her son as the couple clung to the reef in the freezing water overnight.
“He loved that child like you wouldn’t believe… (he) would have made sure the child was safe,” she said.
Tess Eckert, Tom’s wife, also spoke to the media and shared her gratitude to those who helped in the search.
The couple share two young children, ages four and six.
“Tom was an incredible husband, father and best friend to many,” she said.
He added that his children would also miss their ‘grandpa’ and shared his support for the Botterill family, who he described as close friends.
Alan Bottrill, 71, was one of three fishermen who died when their boat capsized off the coast of South Australia on Monday afternoon.
The bodies of Tom Eckert (left), his father Paul Eckert (right) and Mr. Bottrill were found in the water by emergency crews on Tuesday.
Bottrill’s wife, Pamela, and children, Rónán and Amélie, previously said in a statement that the 71-year-old had battled cancer twice.
“Alan was 71 years old and still an adventurer who loved to fish, play golf and travel with friends and family,” the statement read.
“He leaves behind a wife, two children and two grandchildren who will miss him dearly.”
Bottrill said her husband was an experienced fisherman, who “never” imagined he would be killed doing the hobby he loves.
He said the group had taken off in “calm seas” on the day of the accident.
‘Alan had always loved fishing and had a lot of experience in both boating and fishing. “It is our understanding that there was a ‘strange’ wave which did not allow time to activate normal safety procedures,” Ms Bottrill previously said. The advertiser.
“We have no information about what really happened.”
Bottrill and Paul had been fishing together for more than a decade after meeting while working at SA Health.
One of the couple’s former colleagues, Kylie Peterson, said the duo were “extremely adventurous” and people you would want to “live vicariously” with.
“Mr. Bottrill was the kind of person you would sit and listen to and say, ‘God, I wish I had that spirit of adventure,'” she said.
A large-scale rescue operation was launched for the fishermen after relatives alerted police shortly after 8.30pm on Monday because they were not returning.
Five people were on board the ill-fated boat when it capsized at around 4pm on Monday, near Spilsby Island off Port Lincoln.
The search also involved a police helicopter, police water officers, local maritime rescue boats, a Challenger aircraft and the P&O cruise ship Pacific Explorer.
Police will now prepare reports for the coroner.
South Australian Police Superintendent Paul Bahr said Professor Eckert and his son were treated for hypothermia after they were taken to safety.
“The ship has also been located and is on its way back to Port Lincoln,” Superintendent Bahr said.
“This will be discharged later today and will be subject to further forensic examination and any examination the coroner may require.”
Danny Eckert is Professor of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University and director of the school’s world-leading Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health.
The American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine awarded him the Pierre Robin Award in 2019 for his “exceptional initiative and progress in the areas of academic education and research with original contributions to dental sleep medicine.”