ONE man has died and two others have been injured after a fishing boat sank off the coast of Mayo this afternoon.
The fishermen were working onboard a boat about 16 nautical miles northwest of Eagle Island when it got into difficulty around midday.
The crew managed to make a broken mayday broadcast to the Coast Guard just before the vessel became submerged.
They deployed a liferaft and the Rescue 118 helicopter from Sligo was immediately dispatched to the scene.
The search was also supported by RNLI teams from Balyglass and an Air Corps Casa maritime patrol aircraft, which happened to be on patrol duty in the area at the time.
At approximately 1pm, the crews spotted flares used by the casualties which enabled them to begin a recovery effort.
The three fishermen were airlifted from the liferaft at 1.20pm – over an hour after they had first entered the water.
The trio were transferred to Sligo University Hospital but one of them, a man aged in his 50s, later died.
It is understood that the other two men are recovering and are expected to survive.
