Search continues for five missing crewmen
One crewman has already been found dead by the Waterford-based coastguard helicopter and two men were rescued earlier. They were in good condition and were taken to hospital in Bangor for checks.
The sailors, who are believed to be Russian, were on the MV Swanland when it got into trouble at 2.03am yesterday in force-eight gales and waves that rose above 25ft.
Two men, a second officer and an able seaman, were winced from a life raft after they were spotted shining torches skywards as they were tossed around in the violent sea conditions at approximately 3.30am.
The rescue helicopters, including one flown by Britain’s Prince William, continued to scour the area after dawn.
However, the rescued men’s colleagues, four of whom were wearing survival suits, could not be found during a search that continued until 4.45pm yesterday.
One empty life raft and large amount of debris have been found near the site where the ship sank, 16km west of the Lleyn peninsula in north Wales.
It is not known why the Swanland went down.
However, explanation diagrams drawn by the rescued second officer for the coastguard teams in Wales suggest the ship was hit by an enormous wave.
The 81-metre vessel, which was carrying 3,100 tonnes of limestone, sent its distress call at 2.03am and split its hull less than 10 minutes later.
Swanland, a Dutch-built ship registered in the Cook Islands, was taking its cargo from Abergele in Wales to the Isle of Wight.
The Dublin-based rescue helicopter joined the search at 2.30am but it had development problems and was forced to land at the Valley RAF base for a time.
At 4am, the helicopter from the Waterford station took its place and its crew were able to recover the body of one of the missing sailors. His body was taken from the sea after 9am.
The Irish Navy’s LÉ Eithne also joined the search, along with coastguard and private vessels from Wales.
The search is being co-ordinated by teams in Holyhead.
