A tragic incident unfolded in the English Channel as a passenger who fell overboard from a yacht near the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm off the coast of East Sussex has been discovered deceased.
The individual is believed to have plunged from a catamaran, prompting a distress call at 10:19 am received by HM Coastguard. A woman onboard raised the alarm, leading to the dispatch of Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboats from Shoreham and Newhaven, a coastguard rescue helicopter, a fixed-wing aircraft, and two nearby vessels.
Sussex Police confirmed the recovery of the man’s body from the sea following a search operation conducted by the coastguard. The police spokesperson conveyed, “At 11:40 am on Sunday, police were alerted by HM Coastguard about a man falling overboard off the Newhaven coast. The search efforts resulted in the retrieval of a body from the water. The man has been identified, and his next-of-kin have been notified. Our sympathies are with them during this challenging period. Investigations are ongoing with no further information available presently.”
An RNLI representative mentioned that the response to the man overboard incident concluded at 1 pm. They stated, “RNLI teams were part of a collaborative rescue operation this morning involving HM Coastguard, with Newhaven RNLI and Shoreham RNLI mobilized as the primary response units. A person was rescued by helicopter, and the remaining passenger and vessel were safely returned to shore, with all agencies standing down at 13:00.”
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