Families of lost airmen thank NW for support

The families of the two Yorkshire men who have been missing since their small fixed wing aircraft went missing after leaving City of Derry Airport on Thursday, June 9, would like to express their thanks to all agencies and in particular all the volunteers who have given up their time to search for their loved ones.

The two missing men are 66 year old Terry Driffield and 68 year old Ray Hymas, both from North Yorkshire.

Speaking about the search operation, Inspector Michael McDonnell said: “During this search operation Police have been supported in their efforts by the work of Community Rescue Service, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, RNLI, Northern Ireland Environment agency and North West Mountain Rescue. State of the art SONAR equipment and seabed scanning equipment has also been deployed, to ensure that appropriate technical expertise is being utilised to maximise the effectiveness of the overall operation.

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“The PSNI helicopter has also conducted over-flights of the harbour and further out to sea. A series of boats and vessels have also been involved in the search on the water.”

Inspector McDonnell continues: “The Community Rescue Service team will continue in their search of the area and they along with Police will continue to respond to any sightings reported.

“I would like to thank all agencies concerned for their continued support. Over the coming days we will continue to work with search and rescue teams, when called upon. I would also ask the public to be vigilant if they are near Glenarm Harbour and coastlines.

“Anyone who notices anything unusual is asked to contact police on the non-emergency number 101.

“The families of Ray Hymas and Terry Driffield would ask the media to respect their privacy at this very difficult time and wish to extend their thanks to all agencies involved”.

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