Tullaghmurray Lass,Wreck recovered off Co Down coast
Police divers in the North have located the wreckage off the County Down coast of the Kilkeel trawler, the Tullaghmurray Lass. The trawler went missing with three members of the same family on board five weeks ago.
The fishery protection vessel, the Ken Vickers, located an object yesterday using sonar equipment. It was on the seabed, 42 metres below the surface, and part of the stern had been damaged.
Police divers were sent to investigate the area seven miles from the Kilkeel coast at first light. They subsequently confirmed it was the Tullaghmurray Lass. The trawler went missing five weeks ago with Michael Greene, his son, and eight-year-old grandson on board. They were fishing for prawns.
Over the past few weeks, there had been a widespread search for the vessel and at one stage the British and Irish Navies were both involved. Just as they pulled out of the operation, bits of wreckage were recovered, believed to have come from the wheelhouse of the Kilkeel trawler.
The Marine Accident Investigation Board are assessing the next stage of the operation. One of their members said they had been told the vessel had been fairly badly damaged at the stern. He said they did not speculate about what might have occurred, although a collision at sea was one possibility.
