Don’t miss a thing! Sign up to the Daily Star’s newsletter

We have more newsletters

Boats from three countries are on the hunt for a hero firefighter who went missing while doing a cross-Channel charity swim.

Firefighter Iain Hughes, 43, began an attempt on June 20 to cross the Channel to raise £21,000 for several charities, including The British Heart Foundation, The Firefighters Charity and Midlands Air Ambulance.

But Iain, who was being accompanied by a boat on his journey, was reported missing his fire service confirmed.

READ MORE: Explorer who visited Titanic shows eerie side effect of being 2.5 miles below the sea

West Midlands Fire Service confirmed that Hughes – part of the Technical Rescue Unit at Wednesbury fire station – was reported missing yesterday evening.

Police, military and navy helicopters and boats from Britain, France and Belgium have been trawling the English Channel in search of the firefighter.

But French authorities have already concluded their search,the Mirror reported.

Iain, who joined West Midlands Fire Service at the age of 19 in 1999, has been described by his colleagues as "highly-respected" and "much-loved".

• 

  ‘Psychic detective’ pinpoints the Titanic tourist sub – and it's not where you think

Chief Fire Officer, Wayne Brown, said: "Iain's disappearance is unspeakably sad. We are giving Iain's family all the support we can at this distressing time.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and everyone close to Iain. He is a highly-respected and much-loved colleague and friend to many."

On hisJust Giving page, Mr Hughes said the three charities represented £1,000 for each mile of the swim. At the time of writing, £5,775 has been raised by 137 people.

• 

  Missing Titanic sub 'sent out distress signal' and could be 'tangled' in ship itself

On his Instagram page, the firefighter had been documenting his training before attempting the Channel swim.

His last post, on June 2, shows him smiling as he swims with a friend in 12C water.

Another post published on the same day, which shows him swimming parallel to the coast, reads: "Stormy weather has prevented me from attempting the channel this week! Managed to get some training hours with my support crew."

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.

• Missing Person
• In the News

Source: Read Full Article