Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Rescue teams resume hunt for man washed out to sea in Cornwall as he spread ashes at Port William

The 51-year-old man has been missing since late on Saturday afternoon

Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith
Saturday 31 January 2015 19:57 EST
Comments
The man was caught by a large wave at Port William in Cornwall whilst spreading ashes
The man was caught by a large wave at Port William in Cornwall whilst spreading ashes

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A huge search-and-rescue operation has resumed this morning for a 51-year-old man who was swept into the sea as he stood spreading ashes on the Cornish coast on Saturday afternoon.

Falmouth Coastguard air and sea rescue crews are now searching for signs of the missing man, the Cornish Guardian reports, after an unsuccessful six-hour search operation last night.

The man, who has not been identified, was said to have been caught by a large wave at Port William, near Tintagel, late on Saturday afternoon. Two other people who were with him at the time went into the sea in an attempt to rescue him but had to turn back.

Saturday’s search operation saw Coastguard rescue teams from Boscastle and Port Isaac begin a shoreline search, while a RNLI lifeboat was launched, and Falmouth Coastguard scrambled a helicopter from RAF Chievenor to aid the search.

Falmouth Coastguard watch manager Neil Oliver said last night: “We have now been searching for four hours and sadly the man has not been found yet.

“The helicopter and lifeboats have now completed their searches but the two coastguard rescue teams continue their search.

“Conditions this evening have been unfavourable with gale force winds and rough seas.”

The search operation was eventually halted at 11pm on Saturday evening.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in