LIFEBOAT MAGAZINE ARCHIVE

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Katherina Kolkmann (1)

TEN MEN RESCUED Dover and Dungeness, Kent. At 4.58 a.m. on 29th March, 1965, the coastguard informed the honorary secretary that the Dutch ship, Katherina Kolkmann was in collision with the British coaster Gannet five miles south of Folkestone, and was believed to be sinking. At 5.18 the Dover life-boat Southern Africa proceeded in thick fog and a smooth sea to the position of the Katherina Kolkmann. The tide was flooding. Visibility was practically nil but the life-boat picked up ten men who were eventually transferred to the Gannet which had already four survivors on board. The master of the Katherina Kolkmannv/as badly injured and taken off the Gannet by helicopter. One man was still missing, he was believed to have gone down with the sunken vessel, but the life-boat continued to search for him until 10.43 when she returned to her station. The Dungeness life-boat was also called out, and searched for the missing man, eventually returning to her station at 11 o'clock..