Two crew members remain missing after a French-flagged fishing vessel carrying five people sank in the English Channel between France and the United Kingdom, maritime authorities said.

According to the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), the distress call was received on Saturday evening after the trawler, identified by French authorities as the Maranello, encountered problems with its fishing gear about 26 nautical miles southwest of Plymouth.

French authorities said the Maranello had contacted a nearby fishing vessel, the Stradale, for assistance before sinking. The Stradale managed to rescue three of the five crew members, one of whom was airlifted by helicopter to Truro Hospital with injuries, while the other two were taken to hospitals in Plymouth for treatment.

A large-scale search and rescue operation involving a UK Coastguard helicopter, fixed-wing aircraft, RNLI lifeboats and the French Navy's Falcon 50 maritime patrol aircraft was launched following the incident.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency later announced that the search for the two missing crew members had been suspended pending further information after extensive air and sea operations failed to locate them.

The cause of the sinking remains under investigation.(ILKHA)