What particularly puzzles me is why the Dublin heli 116 was dispatched across the entire width of Ireland, thereby needing to refuel before proceeding on station, instead of the Sligo unit 118 which could have been on station far faster and then be back-filled by Dublin.
118 was already gone out to the incident. 116 was then sent to support.
A friend of mine has told me that, during an interview on Irish TV, it was stated that none of 18 beacons (4 on crew) emitted any signal on entering the water.