Hopes fade for missing crew

FEARS were growing last night for the safety of two fishermen missing since their 15-metre fishing vessel, the Maggie B, went down five miles off the Hook Peninsula in county Wexford in rough seas just before midnight on Wednesday.

It emerged last night that the ill-fated vessel, which only got its seaworthiness certificate in February of this year, sank off the British coast in November 1993 when it was four years old. It was chartered as the “Gilsea” at that time but its name was later changed to the Maggie B.

The boat’s life raft, which failed to inflate in the icy waters, was recovered yesterday, as were a number of fish boxes from the vessel. Other debris was drifting towards Dunmore East.