The search for five men missing since their fishing vessel sank off the Wexford/Waterford coast last night has been called off for the evening.
The owner of the Pere Charles, Michael Walsh, said he hoped for a miracle which would see the five crewmen return safe and well, but the likelihood of this was reducing the longer they were missing.
Two life rafts from the vessel have been recovered. Debris was also found close to the location where the fishing vessel is believed to have gone down.
Three lifeboat crews from Dunmore East, Kilmore Quay and Rosslare were involved in the search as well as the Waterford Search and Rescue Helicopter.
Navy and garda divers are on standby but have not been able to dive so far because of bad weather.
The trawler is believed to have sunk off Hook Head at around 6pm yesterday. The alarm was raised when the trawler sent out a distress signal.
The Catholic Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, Dr William Lee, has called on the people of the diocese to remember the families and the missing crew members in their prayer and at weekend masses.
Four Irishmen, one Ukrainian missing
Four of the missing men are Irish; the fifth man is from Ukraine.
The skipper, Tom Hennessy, is in his early 30s, married and the father of two girls. His uncle, Pat Hennessy, originally from The Maharees in Co Kerry, also lives in Dunmore.
Billy O'Connor is in his 50s and married with a number of children, while Pat Coady, who is originally from Duncormack in Wexford, is 27 and the father of a young child.
The Ukrainian man is 32-year-old Andriy Dyrin. He had been living here for the past three months. He is married to Natasha and has one child. His wife and child live in Ukraine.
Boat has modern safety equipment: Senator
The 20m boat was built in 1982 in France but was working out of Dunmore for the past year. Yesterday the crew had been fishing for herrings 3km southeast of Hook Head.
Last night, the lifeboat crew from Dunmore East returned to shore with the Eperb distress signal device which they found floating near the last known location of the Pere Charles. They also found a life-ring from the boat.
Senator Brendan Kenneally, a friend of some of the missing crewmembers, told the Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources today that the trawler had been refurbished and had been fitted with the most modern safety equipment.
He said that Mr Walsh, who was not on board last night, represented the south and southeast fishermen's organisation and had attended many Dáil committee meetings.
The committee members extended their sympathies to the families and friends of the missing crewmen.
