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Four people rescued as sailing boat sinks off coast

Rachael McMenemy
News imageRNLI An orange lifeboat. It has a black hull. There are five crew members on the deck, all dressed in yellow jumpsuits and wearing yellow helmets.RNLI
An RNLI crew, using Clacton's all-weather lifeboat, saved four people before their vessel sank

Four people have been rescued from a sinking sailing boat.

The alarm was raised at 03:35 BST on Sunday when a 36-foot (11m) sailing boat ran aground on Long Sand, 18 miles (29km) east of Clacton-on-Sea on the Essex coast.

The vessel began sinking rapidly and four crew members were evacuated but the boat was lost, the RNLI said.

"The coxswain with the support of his crew did an exceptional job in saving four lives and, thanks to the lifeboat crew, four men will be going home to their families," said lifeboat operations manager Carlo Bardetti.

The boat was almost fully submerged when the last crew member, the skipper, was rescued.

Hot drinks and food were offered to the rescued crew members.

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