A SECOND body was pulled from the sea this morning after an abandoned dinghy was found floating off the Sussex coast yesterday.

RNLI rescue crews from Shoreham found the body of a man off the coast of Brighton just after 5pm yesterday.

At 8.45am today a lifeboat recovered the body of a second man. The body is believed to be a friend of the man found dead yesterday, according to Sussex Police.

The recovery followed a major rescue operation involving police, lifeboat crews, and a Coastguard helicopter after an unattended dinghy was found floating off the coast of Lancing yesterday afternoon.

>>LIVE UPDATES HERE

A Sussex Police spokesman said the second body had not yet been formally identified.

The Argus: A large rescue operation was launched yesterday. Photo: Eddie MitchellA large rescue operation was launched yesterday. Photo: Eddie Mitchell

“A second body has been recovered from the sea by RNLI lifeboat crews and HM Coastguard who were searching after a dinghy was found floating empty in the sea off Shoreham on Monday,” the spokesman said.

“The body of a man was recovered by the RNLI Shoreham lifeboat from the sea off Brighton just after 5pm on Monday afternoon.

“He has not been formally identified at this time, but it is believed to be that of a man linked to the small, unoccupied dinghy that had been found at 1.40pm.

“During enquiries to confirm the identity of the man it became apparent that his friend was also missing and a search continued at sea on Monday evening and resumed on Tuesday morning.

"Around 8.45am, a body was spotted by the crew of a Coastguard helicopter and was picked up by the Shoreham lifeboat crew.

"It has not formally identified, but is believed to be that of the missing man."