A MAN was feared drowned last night after his boat capsized during a lake fowling expedition in Co Monaghan.
Mr John Hughes (55), a father of three, of Lake View, Castleblayney, was accompanied by his son John Jnr (29) in the boat on Lough Muckno, near the Monaghan/Armagh border, when the accident happened.
They were attempting to free a propeller which had jammed when the vessel overturned, throwing them into the water. The younger man swam to safety but his father disappeared.
A distressed Mr John Hughes Jnr said last night: "We were trying to swim to the shore but when I looked around my father had vanished under the water and there was nothing I could do - it was terrible."
Army personnel and gardai were joined by divers in a search of the lake, aided by an Army helicopter. A Garda underwater team also took part in the search yesterday evening, during which the boat was recovered. Arrangements were made for the search to be resumed early today.
