FOUR French fishermen were winched to safety by a helicopter crew during a dramatic night-time rescue operation at the Ecréhous reef.
The men were forced to jump into a liferaft after their boat – an 18-metre trawler called Le Tiberiade – struck rocks and fell onto its side shortly before 2am on Saturday.
The RNLI St Catherine inshore lifeboat, two French rescue boats and a French Navy helicopter were all called out to the reef, off Jersey’s north-east coast.
After being plucked from the trawler the crew were taken to Carteret. It is understood one of them was later transported to Coutances Hospital.
There are unconfirmed reports that two French rescuers also needed winching into the helicopter after going on to the stricken vessel and falling into the water.
The trawler refloated on the rising tide and later returned to the port of Granville.
