Crewmen presumed dead after yacht found

Two Dutch crewmen are presumed dead after their yacht, missing since last November, was discovered off the south west coast.

Their 33-foot vessel was found by the Naval Service in a dilapidated condition.

The yacht, the Welsh Dragon, left Savannah, Georgia in the US in October, headed for the Netherlands.

The crew was last heard from on November 3 and has been the subject of an ongoing investigation ever since.

A Navy spokesman said they were called by the Coastguard yesterday lunchtime after the yacht was spotted partly submerged 120 miles off the Cork coast.

Divers searched the scene but as weather conditions deteriorated they had to leave the boat to drift towards the coast.

The spokesman said: “It is a navigation hazard so we have to be very careful, but there is also the distinct possibility of loss of life which is the subject of an active inquiry.

“The yacht was in bad condition and the keel had been ripped away. The Irish coastguard is controlling the situation.”