Falmouth Coastguards locate missing sailor
- Published
A man who set off from Plymouth to sail singlehandedly to Portugal has been airlifted to hospital after suffering a fall onboard.
The man, 66, left Plymouth on Monday but he suffered chest injuries overnight.
A major search was launched but there was confusion over his exact location.
Falmouth coastguard said it had managed to establish his position after repeated half-hourly attempts to contact him.
The man was located 140 miles (225km) off the Isles of Scilly.
Martin Bidmead, the watch officer at Falmouth Coastguard, said: "We got no response at all initially.
"We were extremely concerned that perhaps he had slipped into unconsciousness.
"Luckily a French aircraft is now on the scene. He is injured. We're arranging a helicopter to get him back to the UK."
The man was taken by a coastguard helicopter to Cork in southern Ireland for treatment.