Salvage experts raise 'Maggie B' vessel

Salvage experts raised the wreck of the Maggie B trawler from the seabed off the southeast coast early this morning and are continuing…

Salvage experts raised the wreck of the Maggie Btrawler from the seabed off the southeast coast early this morning and are continuing to pump water from the vessel before it can be moved.

The vessel sank off the Co Waterford coast in March 2006, with the loss of skipper Glynn Cott (30) and Polish crewman Jan Sankowski (45).

A Dutch crane barge hired by Irish salvage company Irish Diving Contractors arrived in Dunmore East late on Saturday night and left port yesterday at about 11am to make its way to the spot where the Maggie Bsank five miles south of Hook Head.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Transport and Marine confirmed the vessel had been brought to the surface at 7.30am and that efforts were continuing to stabilise it.

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According to Mick McGarry of the Coast Guard, the plan was to first raise the Maggie Bbefore salvaging the Pere Charles, which sank in January, 2007, about 2.5 miles (4km) off Hook Head, with the loss of five lives.

The families of those lost on board the Maggie Band the Pere Charlesbegan another vigil in Dunmore East port as they waited for news of the salvage.

A spokesman for the Department of Transport said later that the vessel was still being pumped out in order to allow it be moved.

The team involved in the salvage includes Irish Coast Guard staff and divers from the Garda Underwater Unit.