At 6am on Saturday morning, HM Coastguard received an EPIRB alert located three nautical miles off the coast at Seaford near Newhaven, from the EPIRB (emergency beacon) of a fishing vessel.
HM Coastguard immediately sent the Coastguard rescue helicopter from Lydd and RNLI all weather lifeboats from both Newhaven and Eastbourne. Birling Gap Coastguard Rescue Team has been sent to check for sightings from the shore.
Another fishing vessel in the area responded to the Coastguard radio broadcasts and is helping with the search. The Coastguard rescue helicopter based at Solent will also join the air search.
The fishing vessel is a 45 foot scalloping vessel with three people on board. The search is ongoing.

UPDATE: One Casualty Recovered and Search For Two Missing Crew Continues
One man has been recovered from the water by the Newhaven RNLI lifeboat, found clinging to a lifebuoy. He has been transferred to hospital.
The search continues for the two missing crew members after the fishing vessel JOANNA C sank this morning off Newhaven.
The search began at 6am on Saturday morning, when HM Coastguard received an EPIRB alert located three nautical miles off the coast at Seaford near Newhaven, from the EPIRB (emergency beacon) from the vessel.
HM Coastguard immediately sent the Coastguard rescue helicopter from Lydd, supported by the Coastguard rescue helicopter based at Lee On Solent and RNLI all weather lifeboats from both Newhaven and Eastbourne. Birling Gap Coastguard Rescue Team has been sent to check for sightings from the shore.
Other fishing vessels in the area responded to the Coastguard radio broadcasts and have been helping with the search.
The fishing vessel JOANNA C is a 45 foot scalloping vessel, registered in Brixham and three people were on board at the time of the sinking.
Piers Stanbury, HM Coastguard Controller and the National Maritime Operations Centre said, "Thankfully one of the three people on board at the time of sinking has been pulled out of the water and brought to shore by the Newhaven RNLI lifeboat but the intensive air and sea search for the two missing crew continues. Debris has been located close to location of the EPIRB alert location but no life raft has been found as yet."

Further Update 10:50 pm
Search Suspended Overnight
HM Coastguard has been coordinating a major search since 6am on Saturday for three crew members from the fishing vessel JOANNA C which sank off Newhaven.

One person was recovered conscious from the sea on Saturday morning by the Newhaven RNLI lifeboat and was transferred to helicopter but two crew members are missing.

A large number of rescue units have been involved in the search today, including Eastbourne and Newhaven RNLI lifeboats, two Coastguard rescue helicopters, the Coastguard fixed wing aircraft and Birling Gap and Beachy Head Coastguard Rescue Teams. Also helping with this search were 12 other vessels including many fishing vessels in the area which responded to the Coastguard broadcasts and have been helping with the search at sea.
Sadly the two crew members are still missing and the search is suspended at 11pm tonight, with a search at first light planned.

Chris Thomas, Deputy Director of HM Coastguard said,

“HM Coastguard’s National Maritime Operations Centre has coordinated a major rescue effort today, with many units searching tirelessly since first light and finding one casualty who has been recovered safely to hospital.

Sadly two other crewmen have not yet been found and all our thoughts are with their families and friends. It is testament to the local maritime community that HM Coastguard were so admirably supported throughout the day by nearby vessels and the local fishing communities who joined us in force and made strenuous efforts to locate their colleagues during the search. At one point, Coastguard coordinators described tracking 14 vessels covering the search plan area including the two RNLI all weather lifeboats at sea.”