A body has tragically been found washed ashore in the UK in the search for a passenger who went missing while travelling on a ferry from Dublin to Holyhead.
The man was reported missing at 9pm on Monday after being last seen on the ferry at around 4pm earlier that day.
A major sea search was launched off the coast of Wales in response to the dreadful news and now local police have confirmed that a body has been discovered during their searches.
Officers made the grim find at Ynys Y Fydlyn in Anglesey where a local had raised the alarm.
The RNLI and local coastguard brought the body to the Holyhead lifeboat station before it was transferred to Gwynedd Hospital, Bangor.
It is not known yet if the body is that of the missing man but his family have been informed.
Chief Inspector Owain Llewellyn said: “We have been actively investigating a missing person inquiry since 5th October, the circumstances of which relate to a male who was last seen aboard an Irish Ferries vessel sailing between Dublin Port and Holyhead.
“We have not been able to formally identify the body yet but have informed the missing man’s family of today’s incident.
"The coastguard and RNLI assisted in taking the body to Holyhead lifeboat station, from where it was taken to Gwynedd Hospital at Bangor.”
Coastguards said that sea and air searches were carried out overnight on Monday and that they covered more than 1,000 square miles during the operation.
Lifeboats from Porthdinllaen, Holyhead and Moelfre and a rescue helicopter from Caernarfon were all involved as well as a rescue helicopter from the Irish Coastguard.
