Search For Missing Sailor Called Off

The search for a man believed to be missing after a boat capsized in Poole Harbour has been called off.

Rescue crews were called at around 11am yesterday (23/12/12). The boat capsized near Brownsea Island and members of the public on the shore dialled 999.

Two men were found holding on to the side of the overturned boat. They were rescued by a coastguard helicopter and taken to Poole Hospital suffering from hypothermia. A third man believed to be in the water, thought to be in his 30s, couldn't be found.

Dom Fraser at the North Haven Yacht Club at Sandbanks said: ''Around 10.45 I heard people shouting for help. I was about to row over but then the helicopter arrived.

The water is quite shallow where it happened, to the point where you can stand up.''

A statement from the Coastguard said:

Portland Coastguard coordinated an intensive air and sea search of the harbour over a three hour period but the man was not found. A marker bouy placed in the location of the capsized boat indicated that a casualty on the surface of the water would have remained within the harbour area in the tidal and weather conditions during the search.

The search involved two coastguard rescue helicopters, RNLI lifeboats from Poole and Swanage, Coastguard Rescue Teams from Swanage and Poole as well as local vessels and other members of the emergency services and the community.