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12 August 2011
Last updated at 07:59 ET
A man is missing after a tug boat overturned on the River Thames in south-east London.
The vessel, called Chieftain, capsized and sank at about 10:50 BST in Convoys Wharf in Deptford, near Greenwich Pier.
The Port of London Authority said one of the three-man crew was missing.
The authority has closed the river in the Greenwich area as part of the continuing operation. Six fire crews, police and the coastguard are helping in the major rescue operation.
It is thought two tug boats were in collision leading to one of them, the Chieftain, capsizing.
The Chieftain was towing a crane barge named Skyline at the time of the incident.
A Port of London Authority spokesman said: "It is believed there were three crew members on the Chieftain. Two were safely recovered and were taken ashore.
"A major search-and-rescue operation is going on."
Thames safety measures were tightened in the aftermath of the 1989 Marchioness riverboat sinking disaster in which 51 people died when their boat was in a collision with a dredger on the Thames near Southwark, south London.
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The vessel, called Chieftain, capsized and sank at about 10:50 BST in Convoys Wharf in Deptford, near Greenwich Pier.
The Port of London Authority said one of the three-man crew was missing.
The authority has closed the river in the Greenwich area as part of the continuing operation. Six fire crews, police and the coastguard are helping in the major rescue operation.
It is thought two tug boats were in collision leading to one of them, the Chieftain, capsizing.
The Chieftain was towing a crane barge named Skyline at the time of the incident.
A Port of London Authority spokesman said: "It is believed there were three crew members on the Chieftain. Two were safely recovered and were taken ashore.
"A major search-and-rescue operation is going on."
Thames safety measures were tightened in the aftermath of the 1989 Marchioness riverboat sinking disaster in which 51 people died when their boat was in a collision with a dredger on the Thames near Southwark, south London.
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