MORE than £1,000 has been raised for the families of people who were on board a fishing boat which sunk at sea.

HM Coastguard scrambled a search and rescue helicopter after receiving a distress beacon from Joanna C near Newhaven at 6am yesterday.

One crew member of the sunken 45ft scalloping vessel Joanna C was rescued by Newhaven RNLI lifeboat in the morning after being found clinging to a lifebuoy.

However, two others remain lost at sea as the search enters its second day.

A Go Fund Me was created last night to "provide for the family of the Joanna C".

More than 50 donors have now given £1,215. Click here to donate. 

Teams searched until 11pm last night for the two missing crewmen.

They returned to the waters at first light this morning to continue scouring the waters.

The Argus:

Chris Thomas, Deputy Director of HM Coastguard said, teams searched "tirelessly yesterday", finding a crew member who has been taken to hospital.

"Sadly two other crewmen have not yet been found and all our thoughts are with their families and friends," he added.

The Argus:

"It is testament to the local maritime community that HM Coastguard were so admirably supported throughout the day by nearby vessels and the local fishing communities who joined us in force and made strenuous efforts to locate their colleagues during the search.

"At one point, Coastguard coordinators described tracking 14 vessels covering the search plan area including the two RNLI all-weather lifeboats at sea.”