A French coastguard spokesman said its helicopter found the person and hoisted them from the water. Despite this, a medical team later pronounced them dead.

A woman has died after going overboard on a cruise ship near the Channel Islands, the French coastguard has confirmed.

A woman in her 20s has died after she went overboard from a cruise ship near the Channel Islands.

A woman has died after going overboard from an 18-deck cruise ship in the English Channel, sparking a huge search in the middle of the night, rescue services say.

The MSC Virtuosa, described as a "giant floating town" with 18 decks and a capacity of more than 6,000 passengers, set off an announcement in the early hours of Saturday morning after the passenger went missing in the Channel.

The passenger was recovered from the water but was pronounced dead

The French coastguard says it received a man overboard distress message from a passenger ship off the Channel Islands

A passenger has reportedly gone overboard an 18-deck cruise ship bound for Southampton, with a huge search operation in the middle of the night as the captain made an announcement