Search called off for missing man from Spirit of Tasmania
The large-scale search for a man who fell overboard from The Spirit of Tasmania early Saturday morning has been suspended.
It's feared the man has drowned in Bass Strait after witnesses saw the man fall into the water at about 12:30am on Saturday.
The ferry had left Melbourne and was about 43 nautical miles south-east of Port Philip Heads, Victoria, at the time of the incident.
The ship left port at 8pm and was four and a half hours into the journey when the man fell from the deck.
Fellow passengers who witnessed the incident said an alarm was sounded but by the time the boat had turned around, they could no longer see him.
Four helicopters and a rescue plane joined water police, two cargo ships and the two Spirit of Tasmania vessels in the search that lasted several hours.
The boat was scheduled to arrive at 6am in Devonport, Tasmania.
The man is yet to be identified and the exact circumstances surrounding his fall have not been disclosed.
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