Signal from helicopter black box detected in search for missing Coast Guard crew in Mayo

It has been described as a “significant development”.

A signal from the black box of the Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 has been detected in the search for three missing crew members off the coast of Mayo. According to RTÉ, the signal from the black box recorder was detected in 40 metres of water, approximately 60 metres from the Blackrock lighthouse at approximately 4.30pm this afternoon. Detecting the signal from the black box is said to be a “significant development” and crews at the scene are now working on establishing the exact position of the signal, with specialist equipment due to arrive from the UK to help the search this evening. The search operation to locate Captain Mark Duffy and winchmen Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith (pictured below) continued off the coast of Mayo today with resources from the Coast Guard, RNLI, the Naval Service, An Garda Síochána and local fishing vessels. Captain Dara Fitzpatrick was recovered from the scene yesterday and flown to Mayo University hospital in Castlebar, where she was sadly pronounced dead. Dara’s sister, Niamh, paid a moving tribute to her late sibling on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland this morning, saying that she died having lived life to its fullest, and that she had been "all about family".