An air and sea search is due to resume at first light today off the north Dublin coast for a young fisherman who is still missing after a vessel capsized and sank off Skerries harbour yesterday.
One of two men on board the half-decker vessel was rescued shortly after the alarm was raised at about 1pm yesterday and taken to Beaumont hospital where his condition is described as not serious.
The two men have been named locally as uncle and nephew Keith and Jamie McAllister.
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The half-decker involved in razor clam fishing was just 100m from the harbour when it capsized and sank rapidly.
The search area for Jamie McAllister extended last night from Balbriggan to south of Lambay Island due to the spread of debris from the vessel. RNLI area lifesaving manager Owen Medland said Irish Coastguard, RNLI and Naval Service units would resume at 6am with co-ordination by the LE Niamh.
Mr Medland said that many people in and around the harbour in the fine, warm weather witnessed the incident, and several emergency calls were made.
The Irish Coast Guard (ICG) and Dublin Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) tasked the RNLI Skerries inshore lifeboat and the ICG Dublin-based Rescue 116 search and rescue helicopter.
The families of the four air crew lost in the Rescue 116 helicopter crash off the north Mayo coast over two months ago had agreed that the replacement aircraft at the Irish Coast Guard’s Dublin base should continue to bear the same call-sign.
Local fishing and angling vessels also joined in the search.
A large group of people gathered at the harbour last evening where locals expressed shock at the incident.
“The men are from a well-known fishing family in the area. It looks like a freak accident that has happened,” one said.
A local woman explained she was having an ice-cream with her grandchildren when she saw a boat overturned in the distance.
“A number of men rushed to raise the alarm and within minutes a rescue operation was under way. It’s just a dreadful thing to watch from the shore and my thoughts are with the family.”
Patrol
The Skerries inshore lifeboat and Rescue 116 were joined within the hour by the RNLI Clogherhead and
Howth
offshore lifeboats, along with an Air Corps Casa maritime patrol plane.
The Naval Service patrol ships LÉ Orla and LÉ Niamh, and the Geological Survey of Ireland's research vessel Keary are also involved, with on-scene co-ordination provided by the LÉ Orla. Garda divers from the Garda Water Unit launched shortly before evening low tide to search the sea area where the vessel sank.
The Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) is expected to initiate an inquiry into the incident, which occurred in benign weather conditions with a light south-easterly wind close to the Perch rock.
The razor clam fishery involves at least 30 vessels in the north Irish Sea, including Dundalk Bay, using dredges in shallow water to harvest the shellfish in a depth of up to 14m.
The value of the fishery has increased in recent years to over €2 million annually.
