Two senior ship's officers have been killed and a third was seriously injured on an Argentinian-owned oil tanker which ran into a violent storm off the West coast earlier today.
The tanker, the 65,000 ton Princess Eva, which has a crew of 24, was en route from Denmark to Houston in Texas when it was hit by storm force 10 winds about 200km off the Mayo coast.
It believed the three crewmen were attempting to secure a life-raft on the deck of the vessel when they were struck by a gigantic wave.
The Bosun was was killed instantly; the Chief Officer, who sustained serious head injuries, died just before 5.00pm.
Weather conditions in the area were said to be 'appalling' with wind gusting to more than 60 miles an hour, and waves of over 30 feet.
The Shannon based coastguard helicopter successfully lifted the seriously injured crewman off the tanker to bring him to University College Hospital in Galway.
The tanker is to put into Killybegs in the early hours of the morning, when the bodies will be taken ashore.
Container ship remains stuck in Rosslare port
Elsewhere a charter vessel from Cherbourg carrying 450 cars remains in difficulty at the mouth of Rosslare Harbour in Wexford.
Only the crew was on board the container ship when it got stuck against a stone wall in between two berths in Rosslare Harbour this morning.
There is no indication at this stage that the ship has been damaged.
Staff at Rosslare port say they are awaiting the arrival of a number of tugs to assist in the removal of the vessel.
Staff say the operation may have to be put back until tomorrow morning because of high winds.
Ferry services are operating as normal but there may be slight delays.
