LAST UPDATE | 25 Sep 2023

A MAJOR SECURITY operation is underway off the Wexford coast this evening as the Naval Service, gardaí and the Coast Guard are attempting to search a stricken trawler. 

Naval personnel have made repeated attempts to board the vessel but have been hampered by poor conditions. 

Sources have said the incident developed in the early hours of this morning off the shore of Curracloe Beach. 

The Journal has learned an Irish navy ship was monitoring a fishing boat yesterday evening and at some point during the night the crew of the trawler called for a helicopter rescue as they ran aground.

The two non-Irish nationals were winched off the trawler that ran aground in bad weather on the coast north of Wexford harbour.

At present the naval service are continuing to monitor and a Coast Guard helicopter has also been near the site of the vessel. 

The Journal has learned that garda detectives from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau are also involved in the operation while the Defence Forces are understood to have deployed a specialist military boarding team. 

A source said that at present the weather has deteriorated in the area and they are having difficulty getting a search team onto the trawler. 

A garda spokesperson said that the incident was an ongoing operation and they have no further comment. 

This is a developing story and we will update as information becomes available.