The US Coast Guard was facing calls last night to return to the doomed British yacht Cheeki Rafiki, to check whether the bodies of any of its four crew members were trapped inside. The coastguard located the boat a week after the vessel went missing.
The families of the British yachtsmen thought to have died in the Atlantic have said the news that their life raft was found untouched left them "all utterly devastated".
Graham Male, the father of James Male, said: "Nonetheless we take some small solace that this conclusive development allowed us to gain an element of closure."
Reading a statement today outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, he offered the families' gratitude to the British government, the US Coastguard, and all others that took "not inconsiderable personal risk to find our loved ones".
"We would like to say how indebted we are to the public for its overwhelming and unprecedented support," he said after referencing the 240,000 signatures on a petition urging the US authorities to continue their search.
With no sign of a life raft or of debris, and with nearly 20,000 square miles having been searched, the hunt continues for another day.
Veteran yachtsman Tony Bullimore tells ITV News that there is a "strong possibility" the yachtsmen are still alive in the life raft.