LATEST: RNLI praises volunteer effort as search winds down for day

The RNLI has praised up to 200 volunteers who have been helping in the search operation for a missing fisherman in Hodson Bay today.

Liam Sheringham, RNLI Volunteer Press Officer, said local anglers were out in force this morning to aid the operation until they were called in amid worsening weather conditions on the lake in the afternoon. 22 divers and five garda diving teams are continuing to search the Yew Point area, about half a mile from Hodson Bay, and are expected to do so until 6pm when the operation winds down for the day in fading light.

Civil defence teams walked the shoreline earlier in the day picking through debris, assisting the RNLI lifeboat, Garda Water Unit and subaqua clubs from all over the midlands in a bid to find the missing man.

The Minister with responsibility for Inland Fisheries, Fergus O'Dowd, also visited search operations in Hodson Bay this evening.

The fisherman was aboard a small fishing boat with two other men, when it capsized on Thursday afternoon, a short distance from Hodson Bay.

A 27-year-old rescued on Thursday evening later died in hospital, while a third man is reported to remain in a critical condition.