Irishman missing off NY coast

The US Coast Guard has suspended its search for an Irishman who is missing and feared drowned after falling from a boat off the…

The US Coast Guard has suspended its search for an Irishman who is missing and feared drowned after falling from a boat off the coast of New York.

Eoin Curran (30) from Templeogue, Dublin was training on a seven metre (23 foot) boat in Long Island Sound, an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, near Larchmont, Westchester County at about 3.30pm on Sunday when a storm blew up.

The winds pushed the vessel to one side and knocked Mr Curran and an instructor overboard.

The instructor managed to get back aboard the vessel and threw Mr Curran a flotation device. However, he was not wearing a life jacket at the time and disappeared into the swelling waters.

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The US Coast Guard said the brief but violent storm also uprooted trees and caused power outages in and around New York City, mainly in the Bronx.

Rescue craft and helicopters searched the 101-square nautical mile area where he fell overboard for 21 hours on Monday. The flotation device was recovered but Mr Curran was not.

The Coast Guard said the search had been suspended pending further developments. La Rochelle Police Department, which is investigating the matter, said it could not comment on an ongoing case.

Mr Curran was living in Brooklyn, New York and worked as a computer programmer with internet giant Google.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was providing consular assistance to his family.

Steven Carroll

Steven Carroll

Steven Carroll is an Assistant News Editor with The Irish Times