Search For Skipper Called Off

Rescue crews scouring the North Sea for the skipper of a fishing boat which collided with a cargo ship have called off the search. Helicopters and boats had been searching for the skipper on Thursday. Three others on the fishing boat, including the skipper's son, were rescued by the cargo ship, Nautica, 28 miles south east of Flamborough Head. A Humber Coastguard spokesman said it was unlikely the search would resume at first light. The boat's skipper was "missing, feared dead", the spokesman added. RAF helicopters and lifeboat crews had been searching the area with the help of other local fishing vessels.In a statement, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency revealed that at 1414 BST Falmouth Coastguard picked up a distress alert from a fishing vessel called Flourish. Humber Coastguard attempted to contact the fishing vessel without success. Other fishing vessels in the area responded to the coastguard's broadcast to shipping and reported sighting the Flourish 30 minutes earlier. A few minutes later Humber Coastguard received a call from the Nautica reporting that they had picked up three of the crew who were safely on board but the skipper was missing after a collision between the two vessels.