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Search for crew from yacht wrecked off Tonga 2

Saturday 16 June 2012, 4:12PM

By Maritime New Zealand

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16 June 2012 - 8.15am

The search will resume today for two men missing after the 50ft yacht Navillus was wrecked off the island of Late, west of the island of Vava'u, Tonga, on Thursday night.

Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) is coordinating the search for an Australian and an Englishman (also an Australian citizen), both in their sixties, who reported via a satellite phone call to a relative in Victoria, Australia, that they had run aground and their Bavaria yacht was breaking up.

An emergency locator beacon was activated at the same time, around 10.30pm.

An on-water search yesterday, involving two local fishing vessels, and an aerial search by an RNZAF P3 Orion, located the wreckage of the yacht, but did not find the two men.

A local fishing vessel will resume searching for the men this morning and a fixed wing aircraft from a local commercial carrier, Air Chathams, will conduct another aerial search over Late Island.

Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator Tracy Brickles said the Orion had completed the search area determined for it by RCCNZ yesterday and would now return to New Zealand.

“The Orion covered an area of approximately 191 square nautical miles yesterday. The conditions were good and the searchers are confident they would have seen the men if they had been within the search area.

“Today, the aircraft will focus on the island to see if the men have reached the shoreline.”

The fishing vessel will conduct an on-water search using plans determined by RCCNZ based on drift patterns.

Conditions in the area at the moment are good for searching with light winds from the north west.

Yesterday, the hull of the yacht, debris and an undeployed liferaft were all found by the search teams.

Crew from one of the fishing vessels went ashore yesterday to check landing points on Late Island near where the hull was found.

Ms Brickles said survival time in the water was estimated at 36 hours, but this would be extended if lifejackets were worn.

The yacht is understood to have been en route from the Caribbean to Bundaberg.
The Police in Victoria are coordinating contact with the next of kin.

RCCNZ will not release the names of those involved.