Sailboat adrift off Île d'Yeu: searches suspended, one man still sought

Maritime authorities have suspended search operations for a man missing from a drifting sailboat off the coast of Île d'Yeu. The search, which resumed at dawn with a Falcon 50 aircraft, located the vessel's overturned dinghy in the early afternoon.

However, with no new elements emerging, the Atlantic Maritime Prefecture decided to halt directed searches at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday. The search efforts had been progressively reinforced throughout Tuesday, including the deployment of a helicopter and an Atlantic 2 maritime patrol aircraft, after an interruption during the night.

The alert was raised Monday evening when the Regional Operational Center for Surveillance and Rescue (Cross) of Etel was informed of a sailboat adrift approximately 70 nautical miles southwest of Penmarc'h Point in Finistère. A passenger on a Brittany Ferries vessel traveling between Portsmouth, UK, and Bilbao, Spain, had spotted the distressed boat and reported it.

An AFP journalist, also a passenger, confirmed the ferry briefly interrupted its journey to send a lifeboat with three individuals aboard. They found no signs of life on or around the 13-meter sailboat, which was reportedly in calm seas. The prefecture had previously stated the boat was adrift with no one on board.

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The search operations resumed since dawn with the engagement of a Falcon 50 allowed us to find the dinghy of the sailboat overturned in the early afternoon. For lack of new elements, the maritime prefect of the Atlantic decided to suspend the searches by directed means at 8:45 p.m.