Bad weather halts search for missing Japanese tourists off Co Clare coast

Deteriorating weather conditions forced the Irish Coast Guard to withdraw its boats from the search for a Japanese couple feared missing in Co Clare yesterday.

Eiji Takagi, a 63-year-old man with joint American and Japanese nationality, and Japanese national Ms Ushio Azaki, 61, were last seen when they checked out of a hotel in Spanish Point on Saturday morning.

A massive search was mounted on Tuesday evening after it was confirmed that a car, found parked at Byrnes Cove, near Georges Head in Kilkee, had been rented by the couple.