The body of a man has been recovered following a multi-agency search off the coast of County Galway.   

Gardaí said they recovered the body off the coast of Carna.

The search had been underway since Thursday when a man was reported in the water after trying to retrieve a dinghy that had gone adrift from a yacht he was sailing in. 

Emergency services were contacted by the man's wife shortly before 6pm on Thursday.

The search effort by coast guards had been focused on an area from Oileán Mhic Dara to Ceann Mhása. 

The body is yet to be identified. 

Irish Coast Guard Operations Section Head Kevin Whitney said the search has now been stood down. 

He said Gardaí will retrieve the body from its lifeboat and then begin the process of formal identification. 

Mr Whitney thanked the several search and rescue teams that have operated on the Galway coast since Thursday.