AN air and sea search will resume this morning for two Kerry men who left Brandon Creek on the Dingle Peninsula early yesterday morning on a salmon fishing trip.
Mr Jimmy O'Connor and Mr Micheal Fitzgerald, both in their 20s and from Ballydavid, near Ventry, set sail in a fibreglass currach at 9 a.m. They were accompanied by another currach, but the two boats separated shortly after.
They were due to rendezvous at When Mr O'Connor and Mr Fitzgerald failed to appear, the alarm was raised.
A helicopter from the Marine Rescue Service at Shannon and 10 local boats from the Dingle area, the Fenit lifeboat and the Dingle Cliff and Coast Rescue Service began a search.
They were joined later by the Kilrush inshore lifeboat, the Aran Island lifeboat and the Banna Strand Cliff Rescue Service.
Visibility was extremely poor, according to Valentia radio.
Lack of fuel and bad conditions forced the helicopter to return to Shannon. Once visibility improved later in the evening, the helicopter rejoined the search and, together with the lifeboats and fishing vessels, continued to search the area until nightfall.
According to one source, the fear was that the outboard engine on the currach had failed, leaving the two men, both non swimmers, at the mercy of sea and wind.
They were described as inexperienced seamen who had no emergency equipment.