Three missing after Jersey fishing boat collision

Harbourmaster Bill Sadler said the vessel was believed to have sunk in 40m (131ft) of water

Rescue teams have been searching for three people who were onboard a fishing boat which is believed to have sunk after a collision off the Jersey coast.

Jersey Coastguard said a captain and two crew members were missing following the collision at sea off St Ouen's Bay at about 05:30 GMT.

Condor Ferries confirmed its vessel, Commodore Goodwill, had been involved.

Ports of Jersey said the search has been suspended overnight.

Harbourmaster Bill Sadler said the vessel was believed to have sunk in 40m (131ft) of water.

He said the search required specialist diving resource and an offshore construction vessel with a remote operation vehicle would be used to confirm the location of the boat.

Ports of Jersey said search and rescue services would regroup before first light on Friday to consider the findings of the search by the vehicle before deciding how to proceed.

Rescue teams have suspended the search overnight for three crew members who were onboard the fishing vessel

BBC Channel Islands journalist Meghan Owen said from the cliffs at Grosnez she had seen helicopters and a plane flying above the numerous boats, including lifeboats and fishing vessels, involved in the search.

Ports of Jersey said a large number of local fishing vessels had joined the search, with the Jersey Coastguard co-ordinating the response.

'Still hope'

President of the Jersey Fishermen's Association Don Thompson said: "Everything is being done at the moment and there is still hope of finding survivors.

"Fishermen will rally together... It's good to see the boys all out on the scene."

Mr Thompson said there was wreckage spotted on the surface of the water early on.

"The fact that the wreckage of the vessel has been located by one of the boys gives a little bit of hope but you know, it's still a fluid situation at the moment," he said.

"It's a small community here, it's a very close knit community... It's obviously at the moment very worrying but it's still an ongoing situation, there is still hope."

Condor Ferries confirmed its Commodore Goodwill, which is now docked at the harbour, had been involved in the collision

Condor Ferries CEO John Napton said: "We can confirm that Commodore Goodwill was involved in a collision with a fishing boat at 05:30 this morning.

"Goodwill was en route from Guernsey to Jersey on her regular sailing when the incident occurred, north-west of Jersey.

"The master notified the coastguard in Jersey and Goodwill has assisted in the search and rescue."

The company said it would fully comply with any investigations into the incident.

The freight vessel, which was carrying five passengers and 24 crew, was sailing from Guernsey to Jersey when the incident occurred.

Commercial shipping has been rerouted to avoid the search area.

Chief Minister Kristina Moore tweeted "thoughts and prayers" to the families of the vessel's crew.

Follow BBC Jersey on Twitter and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].