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Cypriot authorities said a search and rescue mission for a sailor lost at sea was halted on Thursday, two days after the seafarer was last seen on a cruise ship bound for Haifa.
A crew member on a cruise ship bound for Haifa was last seen Tuesday night, according to the captain of the vessel, who said the sailor was last seen when the vessel was some 20 nautical miles south of Cape Gata on the southern coast of Cyprus.
JRCC later said the search and rescue mission was halted until new information could emerge regarding the incident
The Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Larnaca said it was notified by Limassol's Vessel Traffic Service Centre on Wednesday late morning, at 11:35am, saying a crew member of a cruise ship was reported missing while the ship was sailing within the Search and Rescue Region of the Republic of Cyprus.
Knews has been told the cruise ship was sailing to Haifa, Israel, at the time when the sailor went missing, presumed to have fallen overboard.
The JRCC dispatcher then immediately scrambled air units from the National Guard and Police, with helicopters rushing to the area to locate the missing person.
Specialized emergency medics were on board the two helicopters, one from 460 Squadron of the Air Force Command and a one from Cyprus Police Aviation Unit, with officials telling Knews Thursday late morning that there was no update on the search that was still ongoing.
But in the afternoon JRCC said the search and rescue mission was halted until new information could emerge regarding the incident.
Story updated after search was halted Thursday afternoon
