Coastguard search for crew member missing from capsized tug called off

A SEARCH for a crew member missing after a tug capsized and sank on the River Thames in London was called off last night as marine accident experts began an investigation into the accident.

Two other crew members were safely rescued after the tug, called Chieftain and which was towing a barge with a crane on it, went down off Greenwich Pier in south London just before 11am.

A major search-and-rescue operation was launched for the missing crewman, with efforts being co-ordinated by the Woolwich-based London coastguard.

But about four hours after the sinking the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the search, involving police, the Port of London Authority, the fire brigade and lifeboat crews, had been called off.

The section of the river around Greenwich Pier had been closed while the search had gone on.

At the scene of the accident, a second tug boat, which river workers said was also attached to the barge, was still afloat and activity could be seen on deck.

One onlooker said they went to the riverside shortly after the incident at 11am but by then the boat was under water.

One passer-by who witnessed the sinking said: "The front tug seemed to hit a buoy and capsized. It was submerged within a matter of minutes. I saw two men being pulled out of the water. All the boats in the area scrambled and were searching for the third man."

Thames safety measures were tightened in the aftermath of the 1989 Marchioness riverboat sinking disaster in which 51 people died when their boat was in a collision with a dredger near Southwark, south London.