Heavy fog has been cited as a contributory factor behind the death of a man whose fishing vessel collided with the Condor Vitesse off the French coast.

The Condor Ferries vessel was heading to Jersey after departing St Malo when it reportedly struck a French fishing vessel carrying three men, one of whom died. The two other fishermen, aged 37 and 40, were rescued from the water and later treated at Jersey hospital for shock. Nobody on board the high-speed Condor Vitesse was injured.

Condor Ferries’ managing director, Simon Edsall, said: “I can confirm that all passengers are accounted for and uninjured. The crew acted fast to rescue two of the fishermen and co-operated with a further fishing boat to recover the third. Our thoughts are with the injured fisherman and we will continue to work in close cooperation with all authorities involved in this incident.”

Ferry passenger Tim Prevel, of Guernsey, said: “There was an almighty bang when the ferry hit the boat. I wouldn’t want to go through that again – everyone started panicking that the ferry would sink. That’s what you think is going to happen.” Jersey Police confirmed that an incident occurred in French waters northwest of Chausey.

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