Australian police suspended their search today for the crew of a ghost-ship yacht found drifting off Australia's Great Barrier Reef, saying there was little chance of finding the three men alive.
Police believe skipper Des Batten, 56, and brothers Peter, 69, and James Tunstead, 63, may have been swept off the catamaran, Kaz II, when it hit rough seas last Sunday.
"Unfortunately ... it's supposedly almost a week since they've gone missing. (It's) quite difficult to survive without adequate food or water," rescue worker Phil Dowler told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.
Queensland police suspended their air and sea-based search for the missing men, saying in a statement the decision was "based on expert medical advice which suggests the men could not have survived this long in the water".
The men sent no distress calls and their plight was not known about until Wednesday when a coastal patrol plane spotted the catamaran drifting 95 miles offshore.
Rescuers who boarded the vessel early on Friday said it appeared to have been abandoned suddenly. The lights and engines were running, and there was even food and cutlery laid out on the table, but no sign of the crew.
The yacht's headsail was shredded but there was no other sign of damage. An emergency beacon, three life jackets and a dinghy were found on board.
Investigators who examined the catamaran's global positioning system said it appeared to have been drifting with the wind and currents since Sunday, when the men may have hit rough seas.
The men reportedly bought the boat in the north-eastern town of Airlie Beach, and that they set sail from there last Sunday. The crew was planning to sail around northern Australia to Western Australia state. All were experienced sailors.
AP