USCG: Search Continues for Missing British Crew

The US Coast Guard is continuing the search for four British sailors approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

According to the latest media reports, USCG has disclosed two search areas, the south area located approximately 90 nautical miles to the west of the coast guard’s original search area, and the north area based on the last known position of the yacht Cheeki Rafiki and the hull sighting by conteinership Maersk Kure.

The four sailors went missing last Thursday, when their yacht ran into difficulties in the Atlantic Ocean.

Watchstanders from the 1st Coast Guard District command center in Boston were notified of two 406MHz personal locator beacons registered to the 39-foot U.K.-flagged sailing vessel Cheeki Rafiki. The yacht’s agent in the U.K. told the U.S. Coast Guard the last message they received from the crew stated they were taking on water with four people on board.

At approximately 12 p.m. Saturday, the crew from the boxship Maersk Kure located an overturned hull that matched the description of the Cheeki Rafiki, but no sign of the sailors.

So far, multiple crews from numerous nation’s military branches and commercial vessels have searched more than 5,000 square miles of sea.

[mappress]
uscg, May 21, 2014