Mr Donnelly said he was glad Shane had survived

Bernard Donnelly said the whole experience had been "surreal".

Colin Donnelly, 30, has not been seen since his boat - the Emerald Dawn - sank on Wednesday.

His crew mate Shane Murnaghan, 28, was found alive on a life raft off the coast of the Isle of Man on Thursday.

"No words could describe it - that's the truth," Bernard Donnelly said on Friday.

"I have seen it through the personal tragedies here - the whole community, the life-saving services, the police divers have given a personal touch to it as if it was their own flesh and blood.

I was so hopeful, but unfortunately my son didn't make it to the life-raft - but it's better to have one than to have lost two - and I mean that from the bottom of my heart Bernard Donnelly

"They couldn't be any more emotional - you can't hide that emotion... you can see it in the people's eyes. The goodness of the people is just unbelievable.

"My son is a very capable man. I said to Henry, Shane's father, he will get a life-raft off it - he was more than capable, and if he didn't find the life-raft then I hoped the bodies would be in the boat, because they would be lost.

"I thought if they did get the life-raft off - which was 100% in my mind - I wouldn't care if they didn't get a life-raft for three or four days.

"I know the capabilities of life-rafts... there are people who have been in life-rafts for eight days and survived well in the Atlantic.

"I was so hopeful, but unfortunately my son didn't make it to the life-raft - but it's better to have one than to have lost two - and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

"Shane is a member of my family - my son and the Murnaghans, we are just all one family - though we are not related, but we are related in every other way.

Mr Donnelly is comforted by a friend

"He is a friend and a colleague and I am so glad for the Murnaghan family to have their son home again."

Mr Donnelly wept as he spoke of Colin's son, Jordan.

"He is just Colin all over - he always has been. I don't know what we are going to do."

The search for Colin Donnelly was called off on Thursday evening.