A body has been found in the hunt for a yacht’s crew, including two Britons, missing since they were caught in a storm as they crossed the South China Sea last week. The unidentified body and a life jacket were spotted on Tuesday on an oil-slicked sea near the 18-metre (60ft) Europa’s last known position, said commander Armand Balilo, a spokesman for the Philippine coastguard. “A Philippine coastguard auxiliary plane ... found indications that the yacht sank at the vicinity,” he said in an interview on the local TV network, ABS-CBN. “They saw a lifeless body floating and a life jacket and traces of oil.” The Europa, which was also carrying an American, a Canadian and a Filipino, left Hong Kong on Thursday and was supposed to arrive in Subic Bay, north-west of Manila, by Monday. An emergency position-indicating radio beacon on the boat was activated on Saturday, according to the Royal Hong Kong yacht club. Balilo’s office issued a statement naming the missing crew members as Britons Robin Wyatt and Brian Turner, Alan Lundy of the US, Canadian Harry Taylor and Filipino Rudulph Bolloloz. The yacht apparently had been trying to steer clear of typhoon Mujigae and was heading towards the city of Vigan, south of Laoag in the north-east of the Philippines, it added. Balilo said Hong Kong’s maritime rescue coordination centre told the Filipino agency it had sent three vessels to search the area. The yacht club said the Hong Kong-registered boat was owned by Wyatt, whom it described as a yacht broker and experienced sailor. “The boat is new and on board are the skipper Robin Wyatt and four other crew members, all of whom are very experienced seamen; each having crossed the (South) China Sea a number of times,” it added. The British embassy in Manila confirmed that two of its nationals were on board the yacht. “We are liaising urgently with the local authorities concerning search and rescue operations and providing support to the families,” it said. Mujigae killed seven people after hitting southern China on Sunday. Balilo said the storm earlier killed three people in the Philippines, and 13 fishermen were missing. http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...search-for-crew-yacht-missing-south-china-sea
