Man held after missing sailor falls out of boat
A MAN has been arrested on suspicion of the manslaughter of a sailor who is feared to have drowned after falling from a boat.
David Haw, 24, has not been seen since he went into the water at Poole Harbour, Dorset, at 2am on Monday.
He had been on a rigid inflatable boat when he fell into the water.
It is understood Mr Haw was fully clothed but not wearing a life jacket when he entered the sea.
Dorset Police said they have arrested a 19-year-old man from Southampton on suspicion of manslaughter. He remains in police custody. Mr Haw had been a member of the Royal Yachting Association’s British Keelboat Academy and had previously competed for the University of Bristol at national sailing events.
It is thought Mr Haw had been in Poole for a sailing regatta involving keelboat racing at the time he is feared to have drowned. A massive air and sea search operation involving coastguards, the RNLI, police divers, a helicopter and volunteers was launched to find Mr Haw, originally from East Sussex.
The operation was called off on Monday night but resumed again yesterday. Detective Inspector Wayne Seymour, of Dorset Police, said: “Our multi-agency search efforts are ongoing to locate David and there will continue to be a police presence in the harbour and surrounding areas.
“We are continuing to keep David’s family updated with any developments and are doing all we can to support them at this difficult time.
“We are carrying out enquiries to establish what happened in order to help us locate David and would urge anyone with information that may assist our searches to please get in touch urgently.”
After leaving university, Mr Haw worked for software firm Civica.