Search for missing crew continues

A full air and sea search will be resumed this morning off the south-east coast for the two missing members of the crew of the Maggie B.

The Dunmore East RNLI Lifeboat crew returned from a five-hour search yesterday afternoon, 39 hours after the 15.5-metre long steel beamer sank, 8.6 kilometres south of Hook Head in about 50 metres of water.

The coxswain of the lifeboat, Joefi Murphy (53), described their rescue of the third crew member of the vessel on Wednesday evening.

Kriston Pawtowski, a Polish national in his early 30s, was found clinging to a liferaft and suffering from hypothermia, 50 minutes after a distress signal was sent from the vessel.

However, hopes that Maggie B skipper Glenn Cott (31), Ballycotton, Co Cork, and Polish crew member Jan Sankowski (45) would to be found alive have faded.

The missing men, who had finished hauling in their nets, had been at sea for 27 hours before disaster struck amid winds of up to 50 knots.

The Dunmore East lifeboat crew, with two Ballycotton lifeboat crew members on board, returned to the harbour in Dunmore East at 2.20pm yesterday.

"It's still very rough out there," Mr Murphy said, before briefing his relief crew who searched in vain until dark last night.

Recalling the rescue, he added: "I was glad we had a full crew on board, I needed every one of them. We were on course for the position from where the May Day had come from, and less than a mile from there we saw a little light between the troughs of the waves.

"We realised it was the E-Perb [ emergency beacon] and that we were getting closer."

Mr Murphy said a light on the lifeboat, having caught a liferaft reflector, revealed it was upturned and not inflated fully.

"One of the lads heard somebody calling for help; the raft was upturned and very hard to grip but we quickly realised there was a man hanging on to it."

Mr Pawtowski told the crew there had been two other men on board the vessel.

Mr Murphy said the rescued man could not say whether his colleagues were on the raft or the Maggie B because of language difficulties.

"He had his hand wrapped into the raft because when one of the lads tried to grab him, he realised he had to get this thing off his arm before he could pull him in," said Mr Murphy.

The crew continued searching for the missing men but, fearing for Mr Pawtowski's health, decided to bring him to Dunmore East.

From there, he was removed to Waterford Regional Hospital, where he was treated for hypothermia and shock. He was said to be making a good recovery.

The Naval Service vessel LE Ciara was joined by the LE Niamh yesterday afternoon.

The Niamh took over on-scene co-ordination duties until tomorrow.