Men drowned at Loch Awe after rescue boat was removed from Oban

Men drowned at Loch Awe after rescue boat was removed from Oban


The search continued with underwater searchers scouring the loch for traces of Steven Carty and Thomas Douglas from Glasgow who went missing after a boating accident in Loch Awe, Scotland. A local politician claimed that the total of four men could have been saved if the rescue boat had not been removed from nearby Oban. Conservative MSP Jamie McGrigor, for the Highlands and Islands, said that there was no doubt that an Oban boat would have been on that scene more quickly than the Renfrew rescue craft. Loch Awe is the longest freshwater loch in Scotland, with a history of boating accidents, to have a rescue boat based locally would be a good thing to make sure accidents where lives are lost, like these can be prevented in the future.

Source: Retrieved March 24th, 2009
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article5963251.ece http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7147988.ece

My reaction:
It makes me feel sick to my stomach to hear four men from Glasgow died in fain because of a non – available rescue boat. This tragic accident could have been easily prevented by the presence of a boat, one freaking boat!!! In another variant of this story the retired fire chief says he would have been prepared to break the health and safety rules and that if he had done just that then the four men would have still been alive today. I wonder why did he not act on his guts and do it.