Diver lost off France

The diver remains un-named but is reported to be a man in his 60s who was diving in a group on the wreck of the Empire Javelin, a D-Day landing vessel that lies in 60m of water, 22 miles north of Cherbourg.

The group was diving on 23 June from the charter boat Channel Diver, which had journeyed over from Brighton.

Searches were co-ordinated by the Regional Operation Search and Rescue Centre in Joburg. They involved five French vessels, a French Customs helicopter and the British Coastguard’s helicopter from Lee-on-Solent.

A French diving team was flown out but could not dive because of strong currents. Searches continued from the emergency call time of 1pm to 10pm, at which point crews were stood down and the diver was presumed lost.