The helicopter went missing at 1.30am this morning…
The Head of Operations of the Irish Coast Guard has said that “hopes are fading” of finding the three crew members still missing off the coast of Mayo.
The helicopter, Rescue 116, lost contact early this morning prompting a massive search and rescue operation that culminated in one of the crew members being rescued.
The crew member remains in a critical condition in hospital.
A search operation is continuing off the west coast after a coastguard helicopter went missing off Blacksod in Co Mayo early today pic.twitter.com/9YX8UcBjMK
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 14, 2017
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Eugene Clonan, Head of Operations of the Irish Coast Guard said that while the search for the three missing crew continues, hopes of finding them are fading.
What appears to be a wreckage has been discovered close to the site of Rescue 116’s last known location.
Rescue 116 had been providing cover for another Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 118 when it lost contact.
Rescue 118 successfully completed an evacuation of a crew member on a vessel 240km west of Eagle Island this morning and Rescue 116 had been deployed from Dublin and had been providing top cover for Rescue 118’s operation.
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