A post mortem examination is due to be carried out on the body of a fisherman who drowned off the Donegal coast last evening.

The man, aged in his late 30s, went overboard from a vessel which was fishing for crabs, off the north west coast.

The boat was located 70 miles north of Árainn Mhór at the time.

Emergency services were alerted to the incident at around 8:30pm but a rescue operation was stood down, after the man's crew mates managed to recover him from the water.

Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.

The boat subsequently returned to its home port at An Baile Glas in Co Mayo, where it was met by gardaí and personnel from the National Ambulance Service.

The body of the man was taken to Mayo University Hospital for a post mortem.

It is understood the deceased man was originally from eastern Europe.

Gardaí say an examination of the vessel will be conducted.

The incident has also been reported to the Marine Casualty Investigation Board.