Huge sea hunt for helicopter crew

The helicopter was responding to a distress call when it disappeared

A search is going on for a Royal Navy Lynx helicopter carrying four people which crashed off the Cornish coast.

The helicopter was carrying out a sweep of an area off Lizard Point when contact with it was lost around 7pm.

The Lynx was sent out after two Royal Navy warships reported hearing cries from people in the water.

Two more Royal Navy search and rescue helicopters and one from the RAF have flown to the area looking for the Lynx. Lifeboats have also been launched.

The rescue effort is being co-ordinated by RAF Kinloss in Scotland.

The Lynx, based at RNAS Culdrose near Helston, Cornwall, had been sent out on a search and rescue mission on Wednesday evening.

A French Falcon search and rescue aircraft is also helping efforts to find the Lynx crew, the Ministry of Defence said.

Two Royal Navy warships have also been involved, as well as the aircraft carrier HMS illustrious.

Profile of the Lynx helicopter

An RAF spokesman said: "We are in the process of informing the families of the four that the helicopter is missing."

Referring to the four crews' chance of survival, he said: "As every hour goes by you have to be realistic about it.

"But what fires rescue teams to keep going is the thought that people can and people do survive against the odds."

"What we don't know is whether they were able to control their landing on the water or whether it was something that happened very quickly."

He said the helicopter it had sent was equipped with infra-red equipment that would make it easier to spot the Lynx if it was in the water.

"At the moment we have not found the helicopter, but the search is very considerable."

He said the Lynx had been operating in the area when there had been "a person overboard from possibly a ship of a fishing boat".

"The Lynx was involved in that search when it disappeared," he said. He could not confirm whether the aircraft had been launched from a Royal Navy ship.

Sea conditions in the area are said to be cold, but the weather is not said to be adverse.

There are no further details about the welfare of the missing person alarm which sparked the Lynx's launch.

British and French warships in the area reported they had not lost any of their crew overboard.