Cheeki Rafiki search may be suspended - US Coast Guard

US Coast Guard says that it will suspend the search for the four sailors if nothing is found until Friday.

15:10 23 May 2014

The US Coast Guard may suspend the search for the missing four British sailors if nothing is found until Friday night. The Foreign Office said that the US had “gone above and beyond” to locate the missing yacht. However it said that an RAF Hercules plane would continue the search until Saturday. It added: "They will be co-ordinating closely with the US Coast Guard on the search area.” 

 

Capt Anthony Popiel, the US Coast Guard official overseeing the search, said: "If by midnight tomorrow [05:00 BST Saturday] there are no further developments to indicate search efforts would locate the crew alive we will suspend the search.” 

 

Meanwhile, the families of all the four missing sailors are hopeful. On Thursday, relatives went to the US Embassy to deliver letters for US President Barack Obama, the US Coast Guard, and the US ambassador to thank them for resuming the search. Their hopes were briefly raised on Thursday when debris found in the ocean near where the Cheeki Rafiki is thought to have gone missing.