Speaking to Lusa, the spokesman for the Maritime National Authority said that the search during the night by the Jacinto Cândido corvette (a small warship) had been unsuccessful. At 8 a.m. more vessels and aircraft were at the site to continue to look for the fishermen.

“We have not found the missing fishermen. The search continues this morning with the Jacinto Cândido corvette and with the same assistance from Monday, by sea and land. We are also waiting to find out how many aircraft we will have from the Air Force,” he said.

The search was suspended at sunset on Monday, and was carried out only by the corvette overnight.

Following sunset and the visibility decrease in the area, searches by a Portuguese Air Force C-295 aircraft and the vessels of the maritime police and lifeguard station in Leixões were suspended.

The “Mestre Silva” vessel, which is about 12 metres long, sank on Monday morning about 10 miles (19km) off Esmoriz in Espinho, northern Portugal, with five crew members on board.

So far, only one fisherman has been found alive, the master of the vessel, 54-year-old Rafael Silva. He was treated at the Santa Maria da Feira hospital.

There is one confirmed victim, who is 54-years-old.

The other three men are still missing – one Portuguese man aged 64, and two Indonesians aged 26 and 33.