Hans V schreef :
Krijg net een Breaking News pushbericht van de BBC dat de US Coast Guard de zoektocht naar de bemanning heeft hervat.
Er staat niet bij wat de aanleiding voor deze hernieuwde zoektocht is, maar die Britten zitten er wel bovenop...
170.000 handtekeningen.....
US Coastguards have resumed the search for four missing British sailors after more than 170,000 people signed a petition begging rescue crews not to give up hope on the missing seamen.
More than 40 private boats vowed to start searching for the men themselves today in a ‘spirit of Dunkirk’ mission after the American coastguard stopped looking for the men on Sunday, claiming there was little chance they had survived after 20 hours and they didn’t have the capability for a large-scale search.
Yachtsmen from around the world said they would sail to the last known position of the Cheeki Rafiki – nearly 620 miles off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts – to help with the search..
The overturned hull of the boat was spotted by a passing tanker shortly after they disappeared but it was not inspected as there was no sign of the crew, which included Andrew Bridge, 22, James Male, 23, Steve Warren, 52, and 56-year-old Paul Goslin, aboard.
But today, after more than 170,000 signed a petition, the US coastguard said it would resume looking for the men to the relief of their families.
A spokeswoman said: ‘The U.S. Coast Guard has resumed search efforts for the missing crew of the Cheeki Rafiki. More information will released as updates on the search effort are available.’
Nicola Evans, Mr Bridge’s friend who started the petition, said: ‘We have just heard that the US Coast Guard will be resuming the search for the Cheeki Rafiki crew. This is amazing. I’m overwhelmed.
‘When we started this campaign, we didn’t know who would listen, just that our boys were lost at sea and we refused to let go of hope.’
She said that everyone is ‘so grateful’ to the US Coast Guard for listening to all the people who had backed the petition. By 3.30pm today more than 197,200 had signed it.
She said: ‘Thank you again, so much, for helping my amazing friend Andy and his crewmates by giving them a fighting chance. The impact you have made by signing this petition is unbelievable.’
It comes as the last picture of the missing four British sailors from the Cheeki Rafiki boat was published at a ceremony marking the end of the Antigua Regatta.
One of the lost men’s daughter’s, Claire Goslin, wrote on the petition:: ‘One of the sailors is my dad and we cannot give up! He is my world and we need to start this search again!!!’
Celebrities also joining in on calling for the search to resume.
Sir Richard Branson has also called on vessels near the area to keep a lookout for the boat, believed to have capsized on Friday about 1,000km (630 miles) off Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
‘There are a lot of yachts, both sailing yachts and motor yachts, that are crossing the Atlantic this time of year,’ he told the BBC.
‘I think if they could just go off course a little bit, keep their eyes open, a lot of merchant ships, that would be great and I think the family would be incredibly grateful.’
Link:
Metro UK