Air and sea rescue fails to locate missing boat

A FAINT mayday call on a ship-to-ship channel sparked off a full-scale air and sea search yesterday for a suspected sunken, but unidentified, fishing boat.

A baseball cap, two sets of gloves, a small fridge and food supplies were among the debris recovered.

The discovery increased fears that a small inshore fishing boat, possibly with a crew of two, had gone down off the Wicklow coast. A full search is scheduled to resume at first light today but the authorities last night remain baffled that a boat had not been reported missing.