A BODY HAS been found in the search off Co Louth for a fisherman who has been missing since earlier this week.

Navy divers recovered the body of the fisherman, who was aboard the ‘Ben Thomas’, a small fishing boat which got into difficulty and began to sink on Tuesday.

Around 8.45am Tuesday, a mayday call was received by the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Dublin from the vessel and its two crewmembers in the North Irish Sea.

Search and rescue teams were able to retrieve one of the fishermen his crewmate in Tuesday’s search of the Dunany Point to Dundalk Bay area, but the multi-agency operation had to stand down as light faded that evening.

The Irish Coast Guard has now confirmed this afternoon to The Journal that a body has been recovered by the navy dive team during a search of the sunken fishing vessel ‘Ben Thomas’ off the Co Louth Coast.

“We would like to thank Clogherhead, Greenore, Drogheda Coast Guard teams, Clogherhead RNLI Lifeboat crew, the Garda water unit, Navy dive team, Irish Lights vessel ‘Granuaile’, Survey Vessel ‘Ros Aine’ and the many local fishing vessels that assisted with the search operation over the past several days,” the Irish Coast Guard said.

“The Irish Coast Guard extends our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.”