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UK yachtsman's sister 'disappointed' at US Coast Guard search deadline UK yachtsman's sister 'disappointed' at US Coast Guard search deadline
(about 1 hour later)
The sister of one of four British yachtsmen missing in the North Atlantic for more than a week has said she is disappointed at the US Coast Guard's decision to call off the search if nothing is found by Saturday morning.The sister of one of four British yachtsmen missing in the North Atlantic for more than a week has said she is disappointed at the US Coast Guard's decision to call off the search if nothing is found by Saturday morning.
Kay Coombes, who fought against the initial decision to suspend the search last Sunday, which was reversed in the face of public pressure and intervention by the UK government, said that her only hope was that they would find her brother Steve Warren and the others before the deadline. An RAF Hercules aircraft, which flew out to join the search on Wednesday, will continue its search for an extra day, the Foreign Office said. Kay Coombes, who fought against the initial decision last Sunday to suspend the search, which was reversed in the face of public pressure and intervention by the UK government, said her only hope was that they would find her brother Steve Warren and the others before the deadline. An RAF Hercules aircraft, which flew out to join the search on Wednesday, will continue its search for an extra day, the Foreign Office said.
Captain Anthony Popiel, chief of response at the 1st Coast Guard District, said on Thursday that he had informed the families that the operation would be suspended at midnight on Friday (5am Saturday BST) if there were "no further developments to indicate search efforts would locate the crew alive". Captain Anthony Popiel, chief of response at the 1st Coast Guard District, said on Thursday that he had informed the families the operation would be suspended at midnight on Friday (5am Saturday BST) if there were "no further developments to indicate search efforts would locate the crew alive".
Coombes said: "I am a bit disappointed to be honest with you, hopefully they will find something today. Hope is all that we have got now."Coombes said: "I am a bit disappointed to be honest with you, hopefully they will find something today. Hope is all that we have got now."
Warren, 52, from Bridgwater, Somerset, Andrew Bridge, 22, from Farnham in Surrey, ames Male, 23, from Southampton, Steve Warren, 52, from Bridgwater, Somerset, and Paul Goslin, 56, from West Camel, Somerset were sailing in a treacherous stretch of ocean from a regatta in Antigua to Southampton on 16 May when their yacht, the Cheeki Rafiki, capsized. Warren, 52, from Bridgwater, Somerset, Andrew Bridge, 22, from Farnham in Surrey, James Male, 23, from Southampton, and Paul Goslin, 56, from West Camel, Somerset were sailing in a treacherous stretch of ocean from a regatta in Antigua to Southampton on 16 May when their yacht, the Cheeki Rafiki, capsized.
A statement issued by the Foreign Office on Friday on behalf of the families of the missing men said they were saddened by the US Coast Guard's decision but were prepared for the fact that it would have to happen.A statement issued by the Foreign Office on Friday on behalf of the families of the missing men said they were saddened by the US Coast Guard's decision but were prepared for the fact that it would have to happen.
It added: "They are meeting with the Foreign Office later on today, to talk about UK involvement and any other avenues that can be explored. Having spent the week getting to know each other better, along with hearing the endless accounts of survivors, the families are reassured that their men would work as an efficient and cohesive team. This gives them additional hope that they will still be found, as the US Coast Guard have found no evidence to the contrary." A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the US Coast Guard had gone "above and beyond" in the search. It added: "They are meeting with the Foreign Office later on today, to talk about UK involvement and any other avenues that can be explored. Having spent the week getting to know each other better, along with hearing the endless accounts of survivors, the families are reassured that their men would work as an efficient and cohesive team.
The search was initially halted on Sunday morning when US officials said the men would not have survived longer than 20 hours, only for it to resume on Tuesday after the men's friends and relatives accused the US of giving up too easily and started a petition that reached more than 230,000 signatures. "This gives them additional hope that they will still be found, as the US Coast Guard have found no evidence to the contrary."
Searchers from the US Coast Guard, the US Air Force, the Canadian military and the RAF, as well as a number of commercial vessels and volunteers, have combed more than 17,000 square miles of ocean in the hunt for the Cheeki Rafiki's crew. Popiel said that the decision to halt the search a second time had been made "after deepest consideration" and said the search team's thoughts and prayers were with the families of the missing sailors. He added: "Our focus right now however remains with this very active and very dynamic search. We will always put forth utmost efforts to find and rescue those in peril at sea." A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the US Coast Guard had gone "above and beyond" in the search.
The search was initially halted on Sunday morning when US officials said the crew would not have survived longer than 20 hours, only for it to resume on Tuesday after the men's friends and relatives accused the US of giving up too easily and started a petition that reached more than 230,000 signatures.
Searchers from the US Coast Guard, the US Air Force, the Canadian military and the RAF, as well as a number of commercial vessels and volunteers, have combed more than 17,000 square miles of ocean in the hunt for the Cheeki Rafiki's crew. Popiel said that the decision to halt the search a second time had been made "after deepest consideration" and said the search team's thoughts and prayers were with the families. He added: "Our focus right now, however, remains with this very active and very dynamic search. We will always put forth utmost efforts to find and rescue those in peril at sea."