Divers attempting to locate the skipper of a fishing boat which capsized suddenly off the County Wexford coast called off their to identify a sunken vessel after dark tonight.
A shipwreck was located in 50 metres of water three miles south east of the Great Saltee Island with divers and lifeboat crews trying to determine whether it is sunken lobster boat the Rising Sun.
The 26-foot vessel went down at 3.30pm yesterday with three men on board.
Two men were rescued about seven hours later by local fishermen and taken to Wexford General Hospital. One man, a father-of-four named as Jimmy Meyler, was pronounced dead on arrival.
The second man, Ian Tierney (26) is understood to be in a stable condition suffering from hypothermia. Skipper, Patrick Colfer (37) from Slade, a well known fisherman in the Kilmore area, was at the wheelhouse manning the radio when the boat suddenly capsized.
The father-of-two was not seen again after the vessel went down and it is unclear if he is still with the vessel. The men had been laying lobster pots on the Rising Sunnear Carnsore Point when it went down.
The Kilmore Quay lifeboat raised the alarm after the small lobster and crab boat failed to arrive back to the harbour at 4.30pm. The lifeboat crew put to sea joined by other local boats. Mr Meyler and Mr Tierney, one of whom was wearing a lifejacket, were found clinging to each other by another fishing vessel, the Napier.
It is understood the two fishermen were working outside in the boat when it suddenly overturned but managed to cling to the vessel for a period before it sank.
They had been in the water for a number of ours before being rescued. Lifeboat crews, four coastguard units and up to 20 local fishing boats spent the day attempting to locate the boat in a search co-ordinated by Irish naval vessel the LE Emer.
An oil slick was spotted near the Saltee Islands and dive teams from Cork with specialised scanning equipment were flown in to search the area. Three naval divers with side scan sonar equipment, designed to locate sunken vessels, have located a vessel in 50 meters of water but have been unable to identify it.
A coastguard spokesman said the navy units would have to bring in specialist diving equipment to get deep enough to identify the vessel.
"It is hoped that the divers will be able to confirm that this is the position of the Rising Sun," he said. The search has been called off and will resume at first light when it is expected a full dive will take place.