Renewed searches for R116 crew continue in Blacksod Bay

Anton McNulty

Seabed surveys close to the area where Coast Guard helicopter R116 crashed are set to continue with the Irish Lights ship, The Granuaile, due to return to Blacksod later this week.
Winch crew Paul Ormsby and CiarΡn Smith have been missing since March 14 when their Sikorsky S-92 helicopter crashed off Blackrock Island, claiming the lives of the two men and colleagues Captain Dara Fitzpatrick and Captain Mark Duffy.
The search for the bodies was scaled down in late April but resumed over the weekend, as sea conditions are more favourable to the type of search currently being conducted. The Killybegs fishing vessel MFV Westbound started trials using a ‘bespoke’ net on Sunday to search areas on the north side of the rock 13km west of the Mullet Peninsula.
Superintendent Tony Healy of Belmullet Garda Station said they hope to be able to continue to trawl the seabed as long as the weather allows it.
“To do the search we want to do you need soft seas and not the monstrous sea conditions we got in March and April. The weather conditions are favourable at the moment ... and it should be ongoing for the next four or five days if we get the weather that is needed. We are taking it on a day-to-day basis but hope to continue for as long as we can,” he told The Mayo News. Garda divers are currently onboard The Westbound, which is fitted with specially modified gear donated by the international netmakers Swan Net-Gundry of Killybegs.
Supt Healy explained The Granuaile is expected to arrive later in the week and its remotely operated vehicle (ROV) will be used to focus on ‘areas of interest’ which may be identified by the trawling. He said the focus of the search is to recover the bodies of Paul Ormsby and CiarΡn Smith and they will continue to do what they can to achieve that.
Members of the Irish Coast Guard along with gardaí are to continue coastal searches during the week as debris from the helicopter continues to come ashore. While the search was scaled back, searches along the shoreline continued and a piece of a stretcher from R116 was recently recovered from the shore on the west coast of the Mullet peninsula.
Supt Healy asked the public to contact Belmullet Garda Station if they discover anything unusual, but he urged people to be cautious, as some items, such as gas canisters, can be dangerous.