The man was on board the German cruiseliner Aida Perla (Picture: Getty)
A major search operation is underway after a man was reported to have gone overboard from a passenger ship off the coast of Kent.
HM Coastguard has said it is coordinating the search near Ramsgate after it was alerted at around 8.55am today.
An emergency response, involving the RNLI and Coastguard, was launched on Sunday morning following reports a man had gone overboard.
The individual was on board the German cruiseliner Aida Perla which is making its way from Hamburg to Rotterdam in The Netherlands.
The rescue mission is taking place off of Ramsgate on the east Kent coast.
The RNLI said they’ve sent out two all-weather lifeboats with the Ramsgate crew receiving the call at 8.20am while the Dover crew launched 15 minutes later at 8.35am.
The HM Coastguard said: ‘HM Coastguard is coordinating the search for a man reported overboard from a passenger ship off Ramsgate on 22 October.
Crews have been sent out to try and find the missing man(Picture: Getty Images)
Storm Babet has battered the UK with heavy winds and massive downpours (Picture: PA)
‘HM Coastguard was alerted at about 8.55am. The HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter has been sent from Lydd alongside a Coastguard fixed-wing aircraft and the RNLI’s all-weather lifeboats from Ramsgate and Dover.’
In a statement, German cruise ship operator AIDA said: ‘AIDA Cruises confirms that there is reason to believe that a crew member of AIDAperla went overboard in the English channel in the early morning of October 22.
‘The captain and crew of AIDAperla immediately initiated all necessary rescue measures in close coordination with the local authorities.
‘The search on board confirmed that a male crew member is missing.
‘The ship was immediately stopped and returned to the spot where the incident was believed to have taken part in the search.
‘The search for the missing person is ongoing and has our utmost priority.’
Data from tracking service cruisemapper suggested the boat was making its way from Hamburg in Germany to Las Palma in the Canary Islands.
Journey data from MarineTraffic, another tracking service, shows the cruiseliner passing Lydd on the south coast at around 8.10am UTC (9.10am UK time) before beginning to turn around.
The tracking data also suggests that two RNLI lifeboats and a search and rescue helicopter remain at the scene as of 1pm.
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The Coastguard says it also sent one of its search and rescue airplanes, which is reported to be equipped with high-tech radar equipment that can detect people in the water from the sky.
In a statement the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: ‘HM Coastguard is coordinating the search for a man reported overboard from a passenger ship off Ramsgate on 22 October.
‘HM Coastguard was alerted at about 8.55am. The HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter has been sent from Lydd alongside a Coastguard fixed-wing aircraft and the RNLI’s all-weather lifeboats from Ramsgate and Dover.’
The boat, which left Hamburg on Friday evening, is currently sitting off of the English coast; eyewitnesses said the boat turned 180 degrees in the water mid-morning.
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He fell overboard this morning