Man feared lost at sea during Storm Austen in Devon

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 25 Oct, 22:07 · Archive

A man seen leaving a hotel in shorts and T-shirt during Storm Austen is feared to have been swept into the sea near Torbay, Devon.

A man is feared to have been swept out to sea after CCTV footage showed him leaving a hotel in Devon in shorts and a T-shirt at lunchtime during Storm Austen. The search operation took place in the Goodrington area of Torbay after he did not return to the hotel.

Emergency services launched a major nine-hour search operation. RNLI Torbay, Exmouth RNLI, the coastguard and police all responded. Crews from Torbay RNLI launched at around 6.10pm and Exmouth RNLI's Shannon lifeboat launched at 6.35pm. A drone and coastguard rescue teams also searched the shoreline. The all-weather lifeboat was at sea for more than eight hours.

Storm Austen's challenging conditions hampered the search effort. Wind gusts ranged from force five to eight, and the sea state made spotting a casualty difficult. Torbay RNLI's inshore lifeboat was stood down at around 9.10pm after carrying out a second shoreline search. Searches continued through the night to various locations before concluding at around 2am, with further searches resuming at daylight the following morning.

How it is being reported

• Man 'vanishes' into sea during Storm Austen as nine-hour search ends with no traceCCTV footage showed a man leaving a hotel in shorts and a T-shirt before appearing to enter the sea in Torbay sparking a major search and rescue operationThe Mirror · 25 Oct, 21:50
• Man last seen leaving hotel in shorts and T-shirt amid Storm Austen vanishes into the seaA major search and rescue operation was launched.Daily Express · 25 Oct, 21:21

In this story: Torbay · Devon · RNLI Torbay · Exmouth RNLI · Solent Coastguard

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