A search is currently underway to find a man who fell from a fuel tanker around 20 miles from the Essex coast.
A coastguard helicopter, a Royal Navy warship and RNLI lifeboats are scouring the waters near Margate harbour to find the man.
The search mission was launched at 5.40am this morning, after reports the man had gone overboard from a liquid petroleum gas tanker that was anchored in the harbour overnight.
Lifeboats are looking up to 8 miles (13km) out to sea, while coastguard crews are searching the shoreline.
HMS Westminster joined the search in response to the coastguard’s call for assistance to all vessels in the area.
The search has been ongoing for over six hours but there are still no signs of life, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said in a statement released this afternoon.
The urgent rescue operation comes as communities across the UK brace for the arrival of Storm Dennis today– just one week after Storm Ciara battered the nation.
Winds of 80mph and up to a month’s worth of rain is expected to fall over the weekend, prompting a major response plan in areas still reeling from last week’s danger-to-life weather.
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