LAST UPDATE | 15 Nov

A LARGE-SCALE search operation for a missing crew member remains ongoing off the coast of Donegal this evening involving a UK Royal Navy Fleet auxiliary vessel.

The missing crew member was last seen at 10:30pm last night, the Irish Coast Guard said. 

Rescue teams, including local lifeboats, the Irish Coast Guard, and aircraft from both the Coast Guard and the Air Corps, are actively involved in the search.

The Royal Navy auxilliary vessel, which provides resupply and refueling support, reported the incident shortly after 9am.

It is understood the search is taking place outside Irish territorial waters.

In a statement, the RNLI confirmed that their lifeboats from Arranmore and Lough Swilly are involved in “a multiagency incident”.

In a statement this afternoon, the Coast Guard confirmed it had received a distress message from a UK Naval support vessel shortly before 9am.

“The alert was for a missing crew member on board, last seen at approximately 10:30pm last night. The vessel was located north of Tory Island when the alert was raised,” a spokesperson for the Irish Coast Guard said.

Malin Head Coast Guard are co-ordinating a search for the missing crew member in the sea off the northwest coast between Tory Island, Co Donegal and Eagle Island, Co Mayo.