A HELMET and inflated life jacket believed to belong to the missing crew of R116 has washed ashore on a west of Ireland beach.
Helicopter R116 crashed into Blackrock lighthouse off the coast of Blacksod, Co. Mayo on March 14 this year.
The crew were dispatched from Dublin to assist in the recovery of an injured crewman from a boat off the Mayo coast on the night of March 13, but lost contact with the Coast Guard in the early hours of March 14.
Captain Dara Fitzpatrick was recovered at sea later that day, while the body of fellow Captain Mark Duffy was found in the wreckage two weeks after the crash.
While an extensive search was carried out in the weeks following the crash, winch man Ciarán Smith, 38, and winch operator Paul Ormsby, 53, are yet to be recovered.
On Saturday, September 30, a helmet and inflated life jacket were recovered by a member of the public at 8.20am at Elly, in Clogher Co. Mayo.
The beach is ten kilometres from Blacksod Lighthouse, where the helicopter last made contact.
Gardaí in the area have described the discovery of the items as 'significant,' and believe the items belong to either Ciarán Smith or Paul Ormsby.
An investigation on the items will be carried out in the coming days.
A garda spokesman said the coast guard are at present conducting a search of the area along with An Garda Síochána.
