Major air and sea search launched for missing diver who vanished two miles off Dorset coast

AN urgent search is underway after a diver went missing two miles off the Dorset coast.

Ships in the English Channel have been called in to help with the air and sea search to find the diver who vanished off the Isle of Portland on Monday.

A lifeboat from Weymouth was scrambled to assist the Coastguard just after 10am when the diver failed to return to their boat.

The dive vessel was found two nautical miles south east of Portland Bill, which sits at the southern tip of the Isle of Portland.

The seabed around Portland is littered with shipwrecks and planes, attracting thousands of divers a year to the underwater graveyards.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: “HM Coastguard has been responding to reports of a missing diver off Portland today.

“Alerted at around 10am, Coastguard helicopters and lifeboats from Weymouth, Exmouth and Swanage have been sent to conduct searches of the area.

“Vessels in the vicinity of the area have also been assisting with the search.”

The search continues.