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Man dies after boat sinks off south coast, with two missing feared dead Man dies after boat sinks off south coast with two missing, feared dead
(about 4 hours later)
One man has died and two more are missing, feared dead, after a boat sank off the south coast of England. One man has died and two others are missing, feared dead, after a boat sank off the south coast of England, triggering a big search and rescue operation.
A major search and rescue operation was launched after the vessel went down off Shoreham, West Sussex, early on Sunday. The alarm was raised shortly before 6am when a fourth man was discovered by a fishing boat crew “clinging to a buoy” two miles west of the town’s harbour, the coastguard said. The vessel left Shoreham harbour in Sussex just after midnight on Sunday for a leisure fishing trip with four Romanian nationals on board but “was apparently struck by a larger vessel” around two hours later, Sussex police said. Two of the men are related, with two living in London and two in Brighton, but officers did not reveal any further details.
It is thought the man, a 45-year-old from London, believed to be Romanian, could have been in the Channel for several hours. He was brought ashore and taken to hospital suffering from the effects of the cold. The alarm was raised shortly before 6am when a fourth man was found clinging to a buoy two miles west of the town’s harbour, according to the coastguard. The 45-year-old was rushed to hospital suffering from the effects of cold, but is now in a stable condition.
Matt Pavitt, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s south-east coastal operations area commander, told the BBC: “Anybody who spends that length of time, numerous hours potentially, in the sea without any protective equipment – at this time of year it’s a nice day but the sea is still cold – is very, very lucky to be alive.” A body was brought ashore by a coastguard helicopter two hours later, at around 8.15am, according to Sussex police.
Up to 15 boats and ships, aided by two coastguard helicopters from Lydd and Lee-on-the-Solent, were involved in the search before it was suspended on Sunday afternoon. Matt Pavitt, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s south-east coastal operations area commander, said: “Anybody who spends that length of time, numerous hours potentially, in the sea without any protective equipment – at this time of year it’s a nice day but the sea is still cold – is very, very lucky to be alive.”
They included lifeboats from Shoreham and Brighton and about 10 vessels from the nearby Rampion offshore wind farm. Coastguard rescue teams from Shoreham and Littlehampton were also involved. As many as 15 boats and ships, aided by two coastguard helicopters from Lydd and Lee-on-the-Solent, were involved in the search before it was suspended on Sunday afternoon.
“Following an extensive search of the area using multiple assets nothing further has been found at this time so the decision has been made to suspend the search pending further information,” said Andy Jenkins, a coastguard controller. “A review of the incident details will be ongoing through the rest of the day.” Lifeboats from Shoreham and Brighton and about 10 vessels from the nearby Rampion offshore windfarm were dispatched, as well as coastguard rescue teams from Shoreham and Littlehampton.
An investigation involving the Marine Accident Investigation Branch has been launched. Andy Jenkins, a coastguard controller, said: “Following an extensive search of the area using multiple assets, nothing further has been found at this time so the decision has been made to suspend the search pending further information. A review of the incident details will be ongoing through the rest of the day.”
Pavitt said it would look into suggestions that the boat, thought to have set off from Brighton marina with four people on board, collided with another vessel, but that it was too early to confirm what happened. He said that whatever did occur had been very quick, as “there was no distress call, no one raised the alarm until the chap was found this morning”. Sussex police and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch have launched an investigation into the tragedy.
A Sussexpolice spokesman said: “It is believed that [the man taken to hospital] was with three other men on a boat out of Brighton marina. The body of one man has been recovered from the sea and brought ashore by coastguard helicopter. A search of sea and coastline is under way to find any survivors.” DCI Rachel Carr said: “We are now trying to establish the circumstances and to identify the other vessel involved. An earlier appeal for information prompted a significant number of calls and I would like to thank people for their prompt responses, which enabled us to quickly identify who had been involved. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of all those who have been involved in this tragic incident.”
“It is thought that the boat may have left Brighton marina around midnight and the incident may have happened a couple of hours later, but the facts are not clear at this time.” Pavitt said that whatever did occur to the vessel happened very quickly, as “there was no distress call, no one raised the alarm until the chap was found this morning”.
The body of the dead man was found at about 8.15am. The search also took in beaches between Brighton and Worthing on the Sussex coast. The search also included beaches between Brighton and Worthing on the Sussex coast.