Search launched after yacht found adrift off French island
Search operations were under way Monday evening for anyone who may have been on board a yacht found adrift off a French island, maritime authorities told AFP.
Late in the day, a search operation was initiated by the Etel Regional Operational Surveillance and Rescue Centre (CROSS) following the discovery of a 13-metre sailing yacht adrift near the Ile d'Yeu on France's Atlantic coast. The Atlantic maritime prefecture reported that a helicopter and a maritime surveillance aircraft were deployed to locate potential occupants of the distressed vessel.
The alert was triggered by a passenger aboard a Brittany Ferries ferry traveling from Portsmouth in the United Kingdom to Bilbao in Spain, who observed the yacht seemingly in distress. According to an AFP journalist onboard the ferry, the vessel halted its journey and dispatched a rescue boat with three crew members to assist. However, upon inspection, no signs of life were found either on the yacht or in the surrounding waters.
The exact number of individuals who may have been aboard remains uncertain, as no emergency beacon had been activated by the yacht.
Written by urgent.news from The Local France's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
