The body of the skipper of a trawler which sank three weeks ago has been recovered during a shoreline search by his brother.

The body of Michael Hayes, one of the six crew of the Tit Bonhomme, was spotted in the water near Grahoge Point in Glandore Bay, off west Cork.

The search team included Bandon-based Superintendent Tom Hayes, the brother of the skipper of the vessel which sank three and a half weeks ago, claiming five lives. The well-known garda has been helping searches around the bay since the tragedy.

Irish Coast Guard units, Civil Defence teams and local volunteers had been searching for the father-of-five and 23-year-old Egyptian deck hand Saied Ali Eldin, both missing since the tragedy on January 15.

Mr Hayes' body was discovered at about 12.45pm near the area of Prison Cove just inside the Glandore Bay on the eastern side of the harbour. Debris had been seen in the water from the shoreline before the body was spotted.

A Coast Guard team recovered the remains and took it to shore at Union Hall.

A Garda spokesman said the body will be formally identified when a post-mortem examination is carried out.

The Tit Bonhomme sank after hitting Adam's Island at the entrance to Glandore Bay in stormy seas on the way back to shore after a three-day prawn fishing trip.

There was one survivor, Egyptian fisherman Abdul Mohammed.

The bodies of three other crew members, Kevin Kershaw, 21, originally from Dublin but who had been living in Clonakilty and was on his first deep sea fishing trip, and Egyptians Attea Shaban, 26, and Wael Mohammed, 35, were recovered in the following days.