A missing fisherman, believed to have fallen overboard while trying to land a fish, has been identified, as a three-day search for him winds down.
Matthew Balange, 43, is believed to have fallen from his boat while fishing off the coast at Mooloolaba in Queensland on Sunday.
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The discovery of Balange’s boat off Cape Moreton on Monday — with the engine still running — suggests he may have fallen into the water while pulling in a fish, with the boat continuing on without him, according to Coast Guards.
Search and rescue crews have scoured a vast strip of water between the Sunshine Coast and Moreton Island since Monday morning, after he was reported missing by his partner when he failed to return home on Sunday night.
“Realistically, you’d have to say the chances of finding a person alive now would be very small,” Mooloolaba Coast Guard senior skipper Rod Ashlin said.
“I wish I could be more positive in the hopes of finding this person, but obviously those chances are slipping away now.”
Balange had recently moved from NSW to Queensland.
His distraught family have expressed their heartbreak over social media.
“It’s 3am, and I am just here heartbroken, in disbelief, wishing this was a nightmare,” his partner Kylie said.
In a statement on behalf of the Balange family, his brother Dave said: “Matt absolutely loved his fishing, he lived and breathed it every opportunity he could get.
“We take a little solace that he was doing what he absolutely loved.
“While our family still holds hope for a positive outcome, we are realistic in our expectations.”
Balange’s family also expressed their “massive appreciation and gratitude” for the rescue workers involved in the search, saying that “without them, we would not have the shreds of hope that we have clung to during this time”.
Rescue workers will continue searching until the end of day.
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