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One man was pulled out of the water and two are still missing after a fishing boat sank off the East Sussex coast. HM Coastguard boarded a search and rescue helicopter after receiving an EPIRB emergency beacon from fishing vessel Joanna C at 6 a.m. Saturday.
The Lydd, Kent-based rescue helicopter was deployed along with two RNLI lifeboats based in Newhaven and Eastbourne to try to find the missing boat. The beacon signal put the ship three nautical miles off the coast of Seaford, near Newhaven.
In an update at 10.30am, HM Coastguard said a man was rescued from the water by the Newhaven RNLI lifeboat and taken to hospital. They found him clinging to a life preserver.
The Joanna C is a Brixham-registered 45-foot scallop boat, the Coast Guard said, and three people were on board when it sank. The search for the two missing crew members was suspended at 11 p.m., but will resume at first light on Sunday.
In addition to the RNLI lifeboats, the Birling Gap Coast Guard Rescue Team checked for sightings from shore. Another nearby fishing vessel assisted with the search, while the Solent-based Coast Guard rescue helicopter was deployed to relieve the Kent-based plane.
Chris Thomas, Deputy Director of HM Coastguard, said: “The HM Coastguard National Maritime Operations Center has coordinated a major rescue effort today, with many units searching tirelessly since first dawn and finding a victim who has been safely recovered in Hospital.
“Sadly, two other crew members have not yet been found and all our thoughts are with their family and friends.
“It is a testament to the local maritime community that HM Coastguard was so admirably supported throughout the day by nearby ships and local fishing communities that they joined us and went to great lengths to locate their colleagues during the search.
“At one point, Coast Guard coordinators described tracking 14 vessels covering the search plan area, including the two RNLI all-weather lifeboats at sea.”
