STILL WAITING
Copter crash bodies recovery delay
Paul Ormsby Ciaran Smith fuselage on the seabed 40 metres down after three-metre ocean swells hampered diving.
Coast Guard manager Declan Geoghan said: “Safety is paramount for everybody. There’s quite an amount of debris to be removed.”
The body was discovered on Friday in the Quayside at Blacksod
Coast Guard looks out to Blackrock island off Co Mayo yesterday Captain Dara Fitzpatrick Pilot Mark Duffy cockpit of Rescue 116 off Blackrock island. The search operation has focused on locating the bodies of dad-of-two Mark and winch crew Paul Ormsby and Ciaran Smith. Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, 45, was recovered from the water after the crash on March 14 but the mother of one was later pronounced dead at Mayo University Hospital.
Garda Inspector Gary Walsh revealed: “The remotely operated vehicle has been in the water on different occasions.
“But it’s still not possible to free the trapped individual in the aircraft.
“No dives could take place due to the sea swell. It is hoped dives can take place tomorrow, judging by the forecast.”
Nine drones were yesterday deployed on the coast of Mullet peninsula and around Erris Head to comb the shoreline.
Air searches led by Irish Coast Guard helicopters continued along North Mayo and into Donegal Bay.
The black box was taken intact from the wreckage on Friday and sent to the UK for analysis.
The Air Accident Investigation Unit said it believed the helicopter’s tail hit rocks as it returned from supporting a rescue mission to refuel at Blacksod.
There was no indication of any danger moments before the Sikorsky S92 vanished, with the crew’s final transmission: “Shortly landing at Blacksod.”
Safety is paramount .. there is quite an amount of debris DECLAN GEOGHAN COAST GUARD MANAGER
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