Storm Dennis: Man dies after falling from ship off Kent coast

15 February 2020, 12:02

The man went missing overboard from a ship off the coast of Margate (file image)
The man went missing overboard from a ship off the coast of Margate (file image). Picture: PA

By Asher McShane

A man's body has been recovered after he fell overboard from a boat off the coast of Kent near Margate.

A Royal Navy ship had been called in to assist in the search and rescue operation.

The man was reported overboard at 5.41am this morning. RNLI lifeboats, a police boat and the coastguard helicopter had worked alongside the Navy ship in an effort to search the area and find the man.

A coastguard spokesman said later: "At around 1pm, after many hours of searching, a body was sadly found in the water by the RNLI Margate lifeboat and has been brought to shore."

Lifeboats and the coastguard helicopter had scoured the sea near Margate Harbour.

Sixty-gun frigate HMS Winchester responded to a relay call to join the search.

The urgent search operation comes as communities across the UK brace for the arrival of Storm Dennis on Sunday - just one week after Storm Ciara battered the nation.

A distress call was received by the coastguard at 5.41am this morning and an extensive search of the area commenced.

The distress call is believed to have come from B Gas Margrethe, a 99-metre Maltese tanker that had been anchored off the coast of Margate.