A MAJOR search and rescue operation is under way for a crew member missing after a tugboat capsized and sank on the River Thames this morning.
Two other crew members were safely rescued after the tug, towing a barge with a crane on it, went down off Greenwich Pier.
The search for the tug, called Chieftain, was being co-ordinated by the Woolwich-based London coastguard and involved police, the Port of London Authority, the fire brigade and lifeboat crews.
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."
Three fire engines, two fire units and a fire boat attended and were called at around 11.09 this morning.
Police helicopters are currently circling the area.
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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