WESTBOUND

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Fishing vessel searching for missing crew members of crashed helicopter

The "Westbound" was undertaking a search of the north Mayo Coast today in an effort to locate two missing helicopter crew members who were on board a 116 Coast Guard helicopter when it crashed in March. The vessel has been fitted with specialised net to search areas on the north side of the rock 13 km west of the Mullet peninsula. They are part of the search to try locate missing crew men Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith, after their Sikorsky S-92 helicopter crashed off Blackrock island, claiming their lives and the lives of their colleagues Capt Dara Fitzpatrick and Capt Mark Duffy, whose bodies have both been recovered. Survey work was carried out on July 17, 2017, by the Killybegs vessel, which has net specially modified gear donated by the local netmakers, Swan Net-Gundry. The plan was to trawl the area for the next four days if conditions allowed. The search was being coordinated by Malin Head Coast Guard.