Key facts
- A French fishing vessel with five people on board sank in the English Channel.
- Three individuals were rescued and hospitalized.
- Two crew members remain missing.
- HM Coastguard is coordinating an intensive search operation.
A French-registered fishing vessel carrying five people sank in the English Channel, south-west of Eddystone Lighthouse off Plymouth. HM Coastguard was alerted to the situation shortly after 6 p.m. on Saturday. A significant search and rescue operation was launched, involving a coastguard rescue helicopter, a fixed-wing aircraft, and RNLI lifeboats from Falmouth and Plymouth. Civilian vessels also joined the intensive search. As of Sunday morning, HM Coastguard confirmed that three of the five individuals on board have been accounted for, but two crew members remain missing. The exact nature of the distress has not yet been disclosed.