A search operation for a fisherman, missing after a trawler sank off the southeast coast last night, has been suspended.

It is due to resume at first light tomorrow morning.

A second fisherman, who died in hospital after being rescued, has been named locally as Joe Sinnott.

Mr Sinnott, 65, was a well-known fisherman from the Kilmore area of Co Wexford.

The weather is expected to worsen overnight with poor conditions forecast for tomorrow, and that is expected to have an impact on the search.

RNLI crews and other boats as well as the Coast Guard searched today for the missing man who was on board when the Alize trawler sank off the coast of Hook Head.

The search is concentrating on a space about 9km south of Hook Head, under the command of the LÉ Ciara naval vessel.

The R116 helicopter based in Dublin along with the Waterford-based R117 helicopter also assisted today.

It is understood that the alert came from the craft's Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) late last night.

Some debris from the stricken vessel was recovered from the sea, including the EPIRB, while diesel was also found on the water.