Cyprus’ maritime control center said Wednesday evening that the yacht made contact with a passing vessel in the area. The update said the Israelis aboard were not in distress and were heading back toward Israel. Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Cypriot authorities had relayed the contact and said the passengers were safe. Officials estimated the yacht would reach Israel within one to two days.
The yacht lost contact on Tuesday near the Paphos area, prompting a joint search by Cypriot, Greek and Israeli agencies. Lawyer Yosef Shaaban, who represents the families, said earlier that the passengers included three residents of the Bedouin village Shibli Umm al Ghanam in the Lower Galilee and one man from the Krayot. He said families were under heavy strain as they waited for news.
Cypriot news site AlphaNews reported that the yacht was piloted by an experienced skipper. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said its consular services department and the Israeli embassies in Cyprus and Greece had remained in continuous contact with relatives. The Israel Defense Forces said no Israeli military units took part in the search.
Amit Hari, professional manager of the Sailor Yacht Club, which was involved in the effort, said the group had set out for Crete about a week ago and tried to stay ahead of Storm Byron. He said the last signal had been received two days earlier west of Cyprus, where the yacht likely encountered rough seas. He added that heavy seas may have pushed the vessel beyond VHF and cellular coverage, and that no distress call had been detected.
Greek authorities had also been involved after the national search and rescue center said Tuesday that the yacht never reached Crete. Its last known position from the day before was about 65 nautical miles from Paphos. Greek officials assessed that severe weather could have forced the yacht to turn back toward Israel or delayed it enough to cut off satellite communication. Alerts were broadcast to ships in the area and passing vessels were asked to check the yacht’s last recorded location.
Search operations continued through the night despite storm conditions that included high seas, heavy rain and strong winds, which limited aerial activity. Authorities in Cyprus reiterated warnings against sailing in the region until the storm passes.