01/05/2013

Search Called Off For Missing Sailor

Rescue crews have called off their search for a British sailor who fell from a yacht in the Pacific Ocean.

Luke Stimson, 38, fell into the water on Saturday night almost 500 miles from land.

The Coast Guard and US Navy crews searched for Mr Stimson for a total of 50 hours over the course of three days, but have now suspended the search, pending new developments.

Mr Stimson worked as the Asian director of Shropshire firm David Austin Roses.

The coast guard said it was unclear why Mr Stimson, who was conscious and wearing a life jacket, fell overboard. He and a British woman were the only two people on the yacht at the time, but she is described as an inexperienced sailor. She was lifted from the yacht by a rescue helicopter on Sunday morning.

The 38ft vessel, believed to be privately owned, was about 2,000 miles west of the Hawaiian island of Oahu and 500 miles west of the Midway Atoll at the time.

The search is being conducted by Navy helicopters and the Coast Guard along with the warship USS Peleliu.

(JP/CD)

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