The search for a man who went overboard from a cruise ship in the sea off Ramsgate has been called off.
The search was being coordinated by HM Coastguard yesterday (October 22) with the Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Lydd alongside a Coastguard fixed-wing aircraft and the RNLI’s all-weather lifeboats from Ramsgate and Dover.
The Ramsgate crew launched at 8.20am with the Coastguard then alerted at 8.55am.
The man is a crew member aboard German cruise ship Aida Perla which is travelling from Hamburg to the Canary Islands.
Sadly the search was called off last night and the AIDAperla resumed its journey to Spain.
AIDA Cruises said: “In the search for a missing crew member in the sea area of the English Channel / Strait of Dover, the MRCC Dover took over the further coordination of the search yesterday morning.
“It involved official ships, a helicopter and AIDAperla. Unfortunately, the search has so far been unsuccessful. AIDAperla was released from the search operation by the MRCC Dover after dark at around 6:15 pm (on October 22) and resumed its journey towards La Coruña. It is expected there on October 24 at around 9am.
“At this difficult time, our thoughts are with the family of the missing person and his colleagues. In addition, we are in close contact with his family and the AIDAperla crew.”
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency confirmed the search, which involved a helicopter and RNLI lifeboats, has been called off.
