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Mohammed Ali Eldin, father of missing trawlermen Saied Ali Eldin, watches a rescue helicopter take part in the search for the Tit Bomhomme last month Julien Behal/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Tit Bonhomme
Search for missing fishermen off Cork coast to be scaled back
Two of the five men who were on the trawler when it sank are still unaccounted for.
THE SEARCH FOR two fishermen still missing off the coast of west Cork is to be scaled back from today, three weeks after the Tit Bonhomme fishing trawler sank, claiming the lives of five men.
Two of the five men who were on the trawler when it sank are still unaccounted for. Skipper Michael Hayes and crew member Saied Ali Eldin have been missing for the last three weeks after their trawler sank on Sunday, 15 January off the coast of Union Hall in west Cork.
A spokesperson for Valentia Coast Guard said that the search operation in the Glandore Bay would be re-evaluated today. It is normal procedure after three weeks that such an operation be scaled back.
Over 60 divers joined in the search over the weekend but now operations are set to be scaled back to a more local-scale searches.
Last month, the wife of Michael Hayes appealed for experienced divers to join the search with dozens getting involved in the search operation involving a number of local volunteer coast guards, a helicopter and dive teams.
The bodies Kevin Kershaw, Attia Shaban and Wael Mohammed were recovered in the days following the sinking. One crew member, Mohammed Add Elgwad, survived the sinking in the early hours of that fateful Sunday morning.
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