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Searches for two crew members from a French fishing boat which sank in the English Channel have been suspended after a second day, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has said.<\/b><\/p>\n
A coastguard rescue helicopter, fixed-wing plane and RNLI lifeboats began searching an area south-west of Eddystone Lighthouse<\/a> off Plymouth, Devon, after the five-strong crew of the trawler the Maranello made a distress call at 18:00 BST on Saturday.<\/p>\n The intensive multi-agency search continued on Sunday before it was “suspended pending further information”, coastguards said at 20:20 on Sunday. <\/p>\n HM Coastguard said three people rescued from the boat and taken to hospital were “currently travelling back to France”.<\/p>\n The French authorities said the stricken fishing vessel had contacted another trawler, the Stradale, to say it had a problem with its fishing gear.<\/p>\n The Stradale managed to recover three of the five crew members before the Maranello sank, the French naval prefecture for the Atlantic added.<\/p>\n One of the rescued sailors was evacuated by helicopter and treated in hospital in Truro, Cornwall, while the other two were taken to Plymouth for medical attention.<\/p>\n RNLI lifeboat crews from Falmouth and Newlyn in Cornwall, as well as from Plymouth and Salcombe in Devon, have been involved in the operation. <\/p>\n A large number of civilian vessels had also assisted in the “intensive search” for the two remaining crew members, a UK coastguard spokesperson added.<\/p>\n They said a coastguard aircraft “equipped with the latest technology including a multi-function search radar and high resolution cameras” was also involved, and that mayday relay broadcasts had been sent out, “requesting vessels in the area to keep a sharp lookout.”<\/p>\n Follow BBC Cornwall on <\/i>X, external<\/span><\/a>, <\/i>Facebook<\/i>, external<\/span><\/a> and <\/i>Instagram<\/i>, external<\/span><\/a>. Follow BBC Devon on <\/i>X, external<\/span><\/a>, <\/i>Facebook<\/i>, external<\/span><\/a> and <\/i>Instagram<\/i>, external<\/span><\/a>. Send your story ideas to <\/i>spotlight@bbc.co.uk<\/i>, external<\/span><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n