1 Dec 2010

More boats join search for missing four in Marshalls waters

9:04 pm on 1 December 2010

More boats in the Marshall Islands have joined in the official search for four missing passengers in the area where a capsized boat was sighted south of Arno Atoll yesterday.

Search and rescue teams set out by sea to view the empty submerged boat sighted by the US Navy C-130 aircraft yesterday to see if they can find any survivors.

Our correspondent Giff Johnson says the boat sighted by the U.S. Navy plane fits the description of the vessel that was en route to Majuro before it went missing in rough conditions last Friday.

He says the search for survivors is becoming more urgent and the more vessels looking the better.

"They've dropped a buoy which checks wave ocean currents right next to the boat to try to identify where, or what direction the currents were going in to inform an ongoing search for survivors in the water. But the search, led by the U.S. coastguard and also joined by many boats from various government agencies in the Marshalls, as well as private boats, is ongoing."

Giff Johnson .