Search for missing man off WA coast ends in tragedy

A body has been found off the West Australian coast during the search for a man who disappeared when his boat overturned at night.

Police say it's likely to be the 27-year-old, last seen about 11pm on Saturday as he and a mate motored toward the Dampier boat ramp in the Pilbara region.

Their vessel capsized off Enderby Island in the Dampier Archipelago, possibly after hitting a mooring at speed.

The man's friend, also in his 20s, raised the alarm after swimming through the darkness for about an hour to the nearby West Lewis Islands off the state's northwest coast.

He walked across rocks for several more hours before finding friends who were also camping on the island about 6am on Sunday, raising the alarm.

Police found the boat submerged off a nearby island on Sunday and divers searched the area nearby without finding the missing man.

The widescale three-day air, sea and land search ended in tragedy on Tuesday.

"A body believed to be the missing 27-year-old male has been located within the search area," a police spokesman said in a statement.

The Dampier Archipelago is a chain of 42 islands, islets and rocks lying within a 45-kilometre radius of the town of Dampier.

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