FRENCH authorities claimed last night that one of their trawlers, which sank 19 miles off the South Cornwall coast, had been rammed by a larger vessel before sinking.

Two bodies were recovered after last Thursday's emergency but three crew members remain unaccounted for, following the capsize of the fishing boat Bugaled Breizh which went down in an area where, in the past, multi-national naval exercises have been held.

French prosecutor Roland Eisch revealed that photographs of the sunken trawler suggested that it had suffered a 'very violent' collision.

He said that a massive vessel, probably a container ship, had rammed its bow and he urged authorities on both sides of the Channel to investigate what had happened.

The Bugaled Breizh, from the port of Loctudy, west of Concarneau and Benodet in Brittany, sank off Lizard Point.

Mr Eisch said that positions of all the warships in the area had been determined and these could not have been responsible.

Speaking on French television, Mr Eisch said that he was considering a charge of involuntary manslaughter, 'that is to say, breaking the rules of navigation which were in force in that zone.'

Later this week he will open a judicial inquiry to begin the process of identifying the boat; its captain, and the crew.

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