Search for British man who fell from cruise ship off Tenerife coast

A search has continued for a British man who fell overboard from a cruise ship off the coast of Tenerife on Thursday.

The 76-year-old was last seen entering the water while the Marella Explorer 2 was en route to the island of La Gomera.

The Spanish coastguard has been coordinating search and rescue efforts since yesterday morning but said he was still missing on Friday evening.

TUI, which operates Marella Cruises, said that it was supporting the man's family and working with local authorities.

Lesley-Anne Kelly, one of the passengers on the ship, recalled the moment an alarm sounded followed by an announcement of "man overboard" as she was having having breakfast with her mother on Thursday morning.

The search then began shortly before 10:00 local time (10:00 GMT), with the ship taking part before it docked in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the early hours of Friday.

"It was pretty sombre last night, especially after the announcement that they were standing down the search," Mrs Kelly said.

Passengers were told witnesses were being interviewed, she added.

Mrs Kelly said she believed people "had clearly seen it happen", adding: "Everybody was up and about. It was pretty bright, so yeah I can imagine if someone had gone in at that time of the day they would have been seen by multiple people."

The coastguard continued the search on Friday with rescue boats, two helicopters and a specialist search and rescue aircraft.

Local media reports say the ship was on its wayback to the Canary Islands from the Portuguese island of Madeira when the incident happened.

It is believed to have departed Tenerife on 21 November for a seven-day tour around the Canaries and other nearby islands.

The Foreign Office said it has not been approached for consular assistance in this instance.

The Malta-registered Marella Explorer 2 holds up to 1814 passengers across its 14 decks and 907 cabins, according to TUI's website.