Search for missing British yacht being scaled back

Over the past three weeks there have been regular reports of debris but none of this has corresponded with the Sirius, the search for which has been over a wide area from the French Riviera to the Balearics and south of the islands as well as towards Italy.

The British owner of the boat had commissioned Alex López to bring it to Palma. Both men were very experienced sailors. Their family is currently hiring two private planes to continue the search. As far as Alex's sister Cristina López is concerned, the search effort has been "inadequate" as has been the communication from the marine service and foreign ministry regarding efforts being made by other countries to locate the two men.

The Italian Coastguard told Cristina that it had sent a ship to search off Sardinia but it could do no more as it didn't know where to look. Algeria sent out a plane on 6 May and that was all.

The foreign ministry says that Spanish embassies and consulates are on the alert in case the boat appears and stresses that representatives in Marseille, Rome and Algiers have been in contact with local authorities regarding the disappeared sailors.