UPDATE 23/01/2012: Cork West Civil Defence – Search Operation, Glandore, January 2012

23 January 2012

The combined Coastguard, Civil Defence, Garda and Naval Service search will resume this morning, Monday 23rd January in Glandore Harbour for the bodies of Michael Hayes and Said Aliy Eldin, missing since the trawler ‘Tit Bonhomme’ sank in the early hours of Sunday morning 15th January. Naval Service, Garda and civilian dive teams have successfully recovered three bodies in recent days, and search teams have combed sections of the rugged coastline on a daily basis.

Civil Defence personnel from Cork West have been assisted by volunteers from Cork South, Cork North and Cork City, and today will be joined by members from the Kerry Civil Defence Unit. Over the last six days a total of 274 Civil Defence Volunteers have been involved in various aspects of the combined air, land and sea search. 

The tasks undertaken by Civil Defence volunteers have included: 

· Management, co-ordination and control of shoreline and coastal search teams from the main Incident Control Unit in conjunction with the IRCG.
· Manning and provision of communications, IT and GIS mapping equipment required for the operation.
· Search Teams from all Cork Civil Defence units conducting shoreline and coastal searches along a 18km stretch of the west cork coast.
· Boat crews from Cork West and Cork City conducting sea searches as directed by LE Niamh.
· Heights Rescue team abseiling into inaccessible coastal areas as part of the co-ordinated search effort.
· Provision and manning of the temporary mortuary to receive bodies when recovered by dive teams.
· Manning of critical road junctions with the Gardaí as part of the Traffic management plan for the local area.