Hopes were fading tonight for the lives of two fishermen missing since their boat sank off the Co Wexford coast last night.
Seven local trawlers, two lifeboats and a naval vessel returned to the docks after spending the day searching for the two men missing off The Maggie B, which went down five and a half miles south of the Hook Head peninsula.
The search, which was called off at 8pm, is due to continue at first light tomorrow. The Irish Coastguard said the search operation had also begun scanning the coastline for bodies.
The 15ft trawler, The Maggie B, which was out of Kilmore Quay in Wexford, first sent out a mayday signal at about 11pm last night. Around an hour later a third crew member of the Irish vessel was found clinging to a life raft and suffering from hypothermia.
Chris Reynolds, from the Irish Coastguard, said: "Regrettably all the life rafts are accounted for, there is no other life saving apparatus out there that they could be clinging to."
Two Polish fishermen and an Irish skipper had been on board the beam trawler, which was dredging the sea bed for scallops and shellfish.
Mr Reynolds, who has spoken to the survivor, continued: "As we expected last night the vessel sank quite quickly and both Polish crewmen ended up in the water separated from the Irish skipper. The survivor was able to hold on to a life raft until rescue came to him about 50 minutes after the vessel sank.
"There were another two boats out at the same time, but not exactly in that area and indeed those boats assisted in the search when it became clear a mayday had been called."
RNLI Dunmore East lifeboat crew were first on the scene following the mayday call. Lifeboat operations manager for Dunmore East, Ciaran Mullins, said: "Weather conditions were very poor with two to three-metre swells.
"It appears the liferaft did not inflate properly and the casualty was clinging to it in freezing cold water. I have no doubt that the quick reaction of the six crew with coxswain Joe Murphy saved the man's life."
During the day the Naval vessel LE Ciarawas co-ordinating the sea search, along with the Dunmore East and Kilmore Quay lifeboats and a number of fishing vessels. Coastguard helicopters from Dublin, Shannon and Waterford were also searching the area.