FISHERMAN SURVIVES NIGHT ON A THAMES ESTUARY FORT

A fisherman has been found alive this morning on one of the old forts called Red Sands Towers in the middle of the Thames Estuary.  The body of a second crew man was recovered by lifeboat from the water off the Kent coast on Saturday night. 

Thames Coastguard was contacted at 8pm by Port of London Authority to report the incident.  Their Vessel Traffic Services had identified a drifting vessel on radar seven miles north of Herne Bay and on further investigation the potting boat Lisa K was found without crew in the area of the Kentish Flats wind farm.  An initial search of the nearby area located the body of a man in the water wearing a buoyancy aid.

A search began for the skipper of the vessel as two people were believed to be on board the vessel when it left Ramsgate on Saturday morning at 9am.  Whitstable, Sheerness and Margate RNLI lifeboats searched the sea as well as the rescue helicopter from RAF Wattisham.  The skipper was not found during the night.

At first light the man was seen by a passing vessel waving from high up inside one of the Red Sands Towers some 10 miles off Southend, (Maunsell Forts were built in 1942 as anti aircraft defence).  The man was recovered and will be transferred to hospital by the rescue helicopter from RAF Wattisham and assessed for hypothermia.

The Lisa K is a potting boat which has been working out of Ramsgate for shell and crab fishing.  The rescued skipper reported that they had been on one of the Red Sands Towers which is nearly six miles from where the vessel was found drifting. His crew man had gone into the water after their fishing vessel began drifting away from the platform.


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