Police and emergency services are conducting a water and aerial search off the South Australian coast for two men who went missing after their fishing boat failed to make it to Kangaroo Island.
South Australia police said the fishing boat, Margrel, left Coffin Bay on September 3 with two men aged 57 and 48 on board.
On Friday night the men made contact with a friend stating they were having engine trouble and were preparing to divert to Kangaroo Island.
Police said the men were not “in distress” at the time.
However, on Sunday, police began a search after the friend notified police they had not heard from the men.
SAPOL’s Water Operations Unit, Australian Search and Rescue (AusSAR) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) are now working together to resume the search at first light on Monday for the boat.
A Poseidon from the RAAF will also be assisting later on Monday.
A severe weather warning is in place across the state’s coastal regions for potentially damaging winds which may impact the search.
A low-pressure trough will move across the state on Monday bringing wind gusts of up to 90 km/h.
Locations that may be affected include Port Lincoln, Mount Gambier, Ceduna, Maitland, Kingscote and Victor Harbor.
The Bureau of Meteorology says the conditions will produce areas of raised dust particularly in the southeast and the far northeast.
Adelaide is likely to miss the worst of the weather.
More to come.
