A search mission was launched to find a certified skipper who went missing at sea off the coast of Capri Island
days searching in the open sea
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drone and helicopter search flights
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expert crew members sent from Israel to Italy
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On a low illumination night, a dense fog disoriented a seasoned sailor making a short transit between vessels in a small boat. His disappearance led to a multi-faceted 10-day search directed by MAGNUS ground teams.
The initial report
A charter of several yachts, organized by an association that sponsors activities for disabled persons, departed Israel and anchored offshore of the island of Capri in the Fall of 2018. While establishing their positions near the coast just after sunset, a sailing guide disembarked from a yacht, boarded a dinghy boat, started its engine, and began transiting toward another yacht in the group approximately 150 meters away. Within just a few minutes, the dinghy and guide disappeared into the darkness, losing contact with all members of the party. The MAGNUS Control Center was immediately informed of the missing person.
operational challenges
- The missing person was an experienced sailor but did not arrive at his intended destination and did not return to his original boat.
- The gentleman was 60 years of age.
- Due to the nature of the short transit, the sailor left without any emergency equipment. He had no flashlight, signal device, phone, shoes, life jacket, food, or water.
- Environmental conditions, such as deep fog near the marina and a moonless night, made navigation at sea in this area extremely challenging.
Mission Phases
- Upon learning of the disappearance, the Italian Coast Guard sent a vessel to search the area of the lost sailor. The MAGNUS Control Center contacted a local asset and assigned them to join the search and rescue team to pass critical information from local authorities to the Control Center.
- The Control Center established a special investigation team assigned to gathering and synchronizing information gathered from multiple sources.
- A MAGNUS rescue team, consisting of maritime, aerial surveillance, diving, drone, and sonar experts, was deployed from Israel to Italy.
- The rescue team conducted thorough topographical, tide, and current calculations, analyzed charts of hundreds of kilometers of territorial waters, and developed an optimal search plan focused near the island of Sardinia.
- MAGNUS leveraged its diplomatic relations with the Israeli Embassy in Italy to incorporate Italian-Hebrew translators into the team, and to distribute recent photos of the missing person throughout the surrounding communities.
- The MAGNUS rescue team led intensive search operations over the next 10 days. Search efforts included over 30 drone flights, 10 search and rescue helicopter flights totaling over 30 hours, sub-surface scans along the rugged cave formations by divers, seabed scans by divers, seabed scans by sonar equipment, shoreline search parties on foot, and tens of interviews conducted with family members and the yacht party.
- After 10 days of intensive searching at sea, the MAGNUS rescue team was able to locate the remains of the missing man in the open waters of Capri, about 150 miles from the marina from which he disappeared.
The MAGNUS team is fully committed to the resolution of cases to which it is assigned and is postured to commit human and material resources that far surpass those available to local authorities, private search parties, and traditional insurance companies. Even when catastrophe occurs and lives are lost, our teams can be counted on to handle the most difficult situations with the highest levels of dedication and care.
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The rescue team
Assaf Riefeld
Search & Rescue Team Member - Open Sea Expert
Amit Rubin
Search & Rescue Team Member - SAR Specialist
Eyal Naor
Search & Rescue Team Member - SAR Specialist
Or Lev
CEO
Srur Tzach (Itzhak)
Search & Rescue Team Member - Water Rescue & Rafting Specilaist
Ziv Domotor
SAR & Mental Rescue Professional Director
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