Cruise Ship Law

Search called off for missing ferry couple
By David Sapsted
Telegraph.co.uk

A major search was called off this afternoon for a couple who disappeared from a cross-Channel ferry in the early hours of this morning.

Coastguards admitted that they did not know if the man and woman, who were travelling on a Brussels-bound coach aboard the P&O ferry Pride of Kent, had fallen overboard or had simply got on the wrong coach when the ship arrived in Calais from Dover at about 2am.

After a search of the ship failed to find any trace of them, French and British coastguards launched a major air and sea search involving four lifeboats, a plane, a rescue tug, two helicopters and a French frigate. Shipping using the Channel was also put on alert for the couple.

Conditions in the area were said to be choppy but visibility was good. However, at lunchtime, French and British authorities agree to call off the search.

“If they had fallen from the ferry and were still on the surface, they would have been found by now,” said a Coastguard spokesman. ”It is possible that the bodies have sunk but it also possible that they got off at Calais after boarding the wrong coach or, even, getting a ride from someone in a car. Inquiries are continuing at both terminals.

"If they have fallen from the height of the ferry, the bodies might well sink and may not surface until days later. We cannot rule anything out from a tragic accident to suicide to a simple misunderstanding.”

The alarm was raised when the Anglia International coach driver realised that the couple, who were travelling without luggage, were missing when he went to disembark at Calais.

Andy Roberts, of Dover Coastguard, said that there reports of the couple being seen on board the ferry shortly after it set sail from Dover.