Search continues for missing Kerry fisherman

A fisherman who has been missing for two days off the coat of Kerry is now thought to have drowned.

A fisherman who has been missing for two days off the coat of Kerry is now thought to have drowned.

A Navy spokesman said today they suspect the local man, who has not yet been officially named but is known to be in his 50s, may have fallen overboard and drowned as he was not wearing a lifejacket. He was an experienced fisherman, he said.

The man set sail on Wednesday evening but his boat was later found drifting in Kenmare Bay.

A search between Deenish Island and Templenoe Point by Coastguard teams and a lifeboat from Castletownbere continues today.

Inshore rescue units and dozens of local boat owners are also engaged in the search, and divers from the Navy ship Le Ciarawere also on standby.

"Unlike the recent tragedy in Fethard-on-Sea we do not know the exact location where the person was lost overboard," the Navy spokesman said. "But we are hopeful that with the large number of volunteers we can find something today."

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