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.
A search operation was initiated by the Etel Regional Operational Surveillance and Rescue Centre (CROSS) on the evening following the sighting of a yacht drifting off the coast of Ile d'Yeu, located off France's Atlantic shoreline. In an effort to locate the potential occupants of a 13-meter sailing yacht adrift in relatively calm waters, a helicopter and a maritime surveillance aircraft were dispatched.
The alert was initiated by a passenger aboard a Brittany Ferries vessel en route from Portsmouth, United Kingdom, to Bilbao, Spain, who observed the yacht seemingly in distress. According to an AFP journalist on board the ferry, the vessel halted its journey and deployed a rescue boat carrying three crew members. However, upon inspection, no indication of life was found on the yacht or in the surrounding waters.
The exact number of individuals potentially on board remains unclear. Importantly, no emergency beacon had been activated.
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.
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