Ferry crewman arrested in connection with sailing deaths

A 61-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the deaths of three sailors who drowned in the English Channel after their yacht disappeared, police have said.

The man, who was a crew member on a P&O ferry, was arrested yesterday morning at a police station in Hampshire on suspicion of causing manslaughter through gross negligence, and was later released on bail.

The bodies of James Meaby, 36, from Tooting, south London, Jason Downer, 35, from Kent, and Rupert Saunders, 36, also from Tooting were found on August 23 and 24, after their yacht, Ouzo, left Bembridge on the Isle of Wight, on August 20 to sail to Devon for the Dartmouth Regatta.