British sailor lost at sea as heavy storms hit western France
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The search for the 73-year-old British sailor came as Storm Herminia battered western France.
PHOTO: REUTERS
PARIS - A British sailor was lost at sea after his yacht was found wrecked off the south-west French coast amid heavy storms over the weekend, the French maritime authorities said.
The search for the 73-year-old came as Storm Herminia battered western France. France’s national weather agency on Jan 27 placed the Ile-et-Vilaine department, in western France, on red alert due to the risks of major floods.
The distress beacon of the yacht was detected around 80km west of Lacanau on Jan 25 afternoon, and a helicopter dispatched to the scene found the sailboat, the Prefet Maritime de l'Atlantique said in a statement late on Jan 26.
The helicopter winched its two divers on board, where they discovered an empty life raft.
A cargo vessel and the Spanish hospital ship Esperanza del Mar were also mobilised to search for the man.
After several hours of searching and due to a lack of any new information, the search was suspended in the early hours of Jan 26. REUTERS
