Alex Dehays said divers recovered the bodies of two missing French fishermen from the French fishing vessel Maranello on Saturday after it sank off Plymouth. The recovery came after weather conditions allowed the search to resume.
The Maranello sent a distress call at about 18:00 BST on 29 August after reporting problems with its fishing gear. Three of the five crew members were rescued by the nearby fishing vessel Stradale before the trawler sank.
Alex Dehays in Saint-Brieuc
Dehays, the deputy prosecutor in Saint-Brieuc, said French prosecutors located the two bodies and that divers found and recovered them on Saturday. One of the rescued sailors was taken by helicopter to hospital in Truro, Cornwall, while the other two received medical attention in Plymouth.
Eddystone Lighthouse search zone
The search covered waters south-west of the Eddystone Lighthouse, off Plymouth, and involved UK and French rescue teams, HM Coastguard, RNLI lifeboats from Devon and Cornwall, and French authorities. A UK coastguard spokesperson said a large number of civilian vessels also helped.
The search had already been suspended after two days because of weather conditions, then resumed when diving became possible. That sequence left the recovery dependent on a second opening in the weather, after the vessel had already been found.
