A body has been found as divers continued to search for missing fisherman Willie Whelan (41) who was on board the Alize trawler which sank off the coast of Hook Head in Co Wexford on January 4th.
A body was found at 11.30am on Wednesday by a diver from Hook Head Sub Aqua Unit. It has yet to be formally identified.
Mr Whelan, from Saltmills in Fethard-on-Sea, has been described by friends and fellow fisherman as a friendly man who was always willing to help others. He got married last year.
The second fisherman who died in the tragedy was Joe Sinnott (65) from Kilmore, Co Wexford. He was winched from the sea shortly after the incident but died a short time later in University Hospital Waterford.
It is understood the trawler sank with such speed that its crew was unable to to raise the alarm. The radio beacon alerted the emergency services to the tragedy that was unfolding shortly.
The fishermen had been fishing for scallops six miles off Hook Head when the trawler sank. The cause of the sinking is unknown at this juncture. The trawler was said to have been in pristine condition and was well maintained