Poole harbour search called off - The Guardian

An air and sea search for a man believed to be missing near the Dorset coast has been called off.

Portland Coastguard co-ordinated an 'intensive three-hour search' of Poole harbour but the man was not found.

The alarm was raised after two people were found holding on to the side of a capsized boat in the harbour on Sunday morning. The men were rescued by helicopter and taken to Poole hospital.

A coastguard spokesman said: "A marker buoy placed in the location of the capsized boat indicated that a casualty on the surface of the water would have remained within the harbour area in the tidal and weather conditions during the search."

The boat capsized near Brownsea Island and members of the public on the shore dialled 999. Dom Fraser, of the North Haven yacht club at Sandbanks, told the Bournemouth Echo he understood the three people had been in a dinghy.

He said: "Around 10.45 I heard people shouting for help. I was about to row over but then the helicopter arrived. The water is quite shallow where it happened, to the point where you can stand up."

The search involved two coastguard rescue helicopters, RNLI lifeboats from Poole and Swanage, coastguard rescue teams and local vessels as well as other members of the emergency services and the community.