Search widens for Hong Kong yacht sailing for Philippines with 4 crew still missing
The Hong Kong Yacht Club has officially identified the five crew members still missing on the Phillipines-bound yacht as authorities continue the search for any clues following the discovery of a body of one of the crew on Tuesday.
The search for the missing Hong Kong-registered yacht Europa continued on Thursday but no sign of the vessel has yet been detected, according to the city's Marine Department and the Philippine Coast Guard.
A spokeswoman for the department said a fixed-wing plane from Hong Kong’s Government Flying Service was again deployed during the day to the area where the yacht was last spotted, about 310 nautical miles southeast of Hong Kong.
“The scope of the search has been widened today because it has to follow the direction of water flows,” the spokeswoman said. She was not at liberty to detail the parameters of the new search area.
The Philippine Coast Guard said it was also continuing its search in the area.
The yacht was carrying five people – two Britons, one Canadian, one American and a Filipino – when it left Hong Kong for Subic Bay in the Philippines last Thursday. It was supposed to arrive at its destination on Monday.