Update 11.20am: Efforts are continuing this morning to find the missing crew of Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116.

Search teams discovered the wreckage of the chopper in the ocean, around 40 metres below the surface, off the coast of Mayo yesterday.

Declan Geoghan from the Irish Coast Guard said weather conditions are good today and locating the crew was the primary concern.

He said that today there would be “some more checking in the area with the wreckage to establish exactly what is there.

“We know the position of the wreckage, we know the black box is there.

“But the primary function at this time is to recover our colleagues should they be with the wreckage”.

Earlier: Bodies of the missing crew of the Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 could be recovered from the sea off Mayo within hours.

Yesterday search teams used a remote-control vehicle to find the underwater wreckage of Rescue 116.

A ‘ROVer’ discovered the fuselage of the aircraft on the ocean floor, in 40 metres of water, near Blackrock Island.

It is thought the bodies of the three coastguard members could still be on board – weather closed in yesterday before the remotely operated vehicle could see if the three missing crew were inside.

The Coast Guard, Navy and other units are now hoping for the weather to lift further today to allow divers to get down to the chopper.

Fergus Sweeney, a photo-journalist in the area, says locals are hoping the families involved will be able to bring the crew home.

“If the remains of the crew members are on board it means that the search doesn’t have to go on and those remains can be recovered and brought back to their loved one.”