Missing Conwy fishermen: Online prayer vigil held

A search for missing fishermen Alan Minard, Ross Ballantine and Carl McGrath was called off on Friday

A prayer vigil has been held online for three fishermen who are missing off the coast of north Wales.

A major search for Alan Minard, Ross Ballantine and skipper Carl McGrath was called off after two days.

They were working on the Nicola Faith, which was last seen on Wednesday night.

Rev Sam Erlandson, of St Paul's Church in Llandudno - who held the vigil on Facebook because of the pandemic - said it was the "not knowing that hurts the most".

A two-day search for the men was called off by HM Coastguard on Friday, "pending further information".

Relatives and friends of Mr McGrath, 34, Mr Minard, 20, and Mr Ballantine, 39, who are all from the Conwy area, kept a vigil at Llandudno's RNLI lifeboat station throughout Friday.

A vigil at St Paul's Church, in Llandudno, was live-streamed on Facebook because of lockdown restrictions

Rev Sam Erlandson prayed to "strengthen and comfort" the men's relatives

"Lord, we hold in our prayers the families of Alan, Ross and Carl," Rev Erlandson said during the sermon, which was streamed live.

"We pray as they struggle to find any hope. All they want is to see their loved ones again.

"We pray that you will strengthen and comfort them. Lord, it is the not knowing that hurts the most."

The Nicola Faith fishing boat has been missing since Wednesday

Some friends of the men had helped scour the local coastline for any debris that may have drifted ashore.

The 10m (33ft) fishing vessel was expected back at Conwy port late on Wednesday night.

The alarm was raised on Thursday morning and a major operation, including seven RNLI lifeboat crews and three coastguard search teams, was launched.

Rescue teams said the fishing vessel was last seen at 22:00 GMT on Wednesday off Rhos-on-Sea - east of Conwy and Llandudno in Liverpool Bay.

The search for the men has covered hundreds of square miles.

Mr McGrath's girlfriend Amy Lamb had said she was "heartbroken", adding: "I just want him to be home and safe."

Amy Lamb, pictured with missing boyfriend Carl McGrath, said she was "heartbroken" as the search went on

Mr Minard's family said they believed the crew were dropping lobster pots during operations on Wednesday.

As well as a coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Caernarfon, a fixed-wing coastguard aircraft also took part in the operation.

The RNLI lifeboat from Beaumaris also searched around the Puffin Island area off the Anglesey coast on Thursday.