A coordinated effort involving several agencies is in progress off the northwest coastline after a member of a UK naval support crew was reported missing on Saturday.
The Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre of the Coast Guard in Malin Head received an emergency alert from a UK Naval support vessel shortly before 9am, reports RTE
The alert concerned a crew member who was unaccounted for on board and was last observed at around 10.30pm the previous night.
TheLiberal.ie won’t quit
Please support us with a small donation on PayPal!
The vessel was positioned to the north of Toraigh island off the Donegal coast when the alarm was raised, reports RTE.
A Department of Transport spokesperson stated that the Malin Head Coast Guard is directing the operation to locate the missing crew member in waters between Toraigh and Oileán sa Tuaidh, near Béal an Mhuirthead in northwest Mayo.
Aerial support for the search includes the Coast Guard’s fixed-wing aircraft, Rescue 120F, based in Shannon; the Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 118, from Sligo; and the Irish Air Corps’ CASA 284, reports RTE.
At sea, the search is being led by the UK Naval support vessel along with three RNLI all-weather lifeboats from An Baile Glas, Árainn Mhór and Lough Swilly, in addition to other participating boats.
A UK Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “Following an incident involving an individual from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary off the coast of Ireland, the Royal Navy is assisting in a search and rescue operation led by the Irish authorities with assistance from the RNLI”, reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
