Search off Ramsgate for man reported overboard from cruise ship

Image source, AIDA Cruises

Image caption, The AIDAperla was off the Kent coast when the man reportedly fell overboard
  • Author, Hamish Mureddu-Reid
  • Role, 大象传媒 News

A search is under way off the Kent coast after reports of a crew member falling overboard from a cruise ship.

The coastguard was alerted at about 09:00 BST on Sunday after the man disappeared from the German vessel AIDAperla off Ramsgate.

The HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter was sent from Lydd alongside a fixed-wing aircraft.

The RNLI sent all-weather lifeboats from Ramsgate and Dover to join the search.

The AIDAperla was travelling from Hamburg in Germany to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, the cruise company has confirmed.

A spokesman for AIDA Cruises said: "The captain and crew of AIDAperla immediately initiated all necessary rescue measures, in close co-ordination with the local authorities.

"The search on board confirmed that a male crew member is missing. The ship was immediately stopped and returned to the spot where the incident was believed to have taken part in the search."

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