Search operation continues off Irish coast after person reported missing from UK naval vessel

Vessel was located north of Tory Island when the alert was raised

A Coast Guard rescue helicopter is among the vessels searching for a UK naval crew member off the Donegal coast. File Photograph: Collins
A Coast Guard rescue helicopter is among the vessels searching for a UK naval crew member off the Donegal coast. File Photograph: Collins

A search operation is continuing for a missing person last seen off the northwest coast at approximately 10.30pm last night.

At 9am on Saturday morning, the Irish Coast Guard’s Malin Head centre received a distress alert from a UK naval support vessel reporting that a crew member was missing. The vessel was located north of Tory Island off the coast of Donegal when the alert was raised.

Malin Head Coast Guard is co-ordinating the search along the coast between Tory Island off Donegal and Eagle Island, Co Mayo. A Coast Guard fixed-wing plane and rescue helicopter are conducting a search from the air alongside an Irish Air Corps plane.

A UK naval support vessel and three RNLI all-weather lifeboats are also aiding the search at sea, alongside other vessels. There is no further information available on the missing person’s identity.

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