Police searching for three missing men after abandoned boat spotted

Procedures to tow the abandoned 10-metre sailing boat found on Wednesday in the sea off Potima in Paphos have got underway after a briefing from the shipping department, Paphos police spokesman Michalis Nicolaou said on Friday.

Police are also searching for three missing persons who were allegedly on board the boat. They are the 30-year-old owner of the boat, also an asylum seeker, a 27-year-old and a third person about whom no details are known.

Information on the occupants has been received, he said, but they are yet to be located.

Members of the CID have searched the boat at sea without detecting anything suspicious, while it is expected to be towed later on Friday so the cabin, which is flooded, can be properly examined.

Examinations so far, Nicolaou said, have revealed the vessel is registered in Cyprus to a permanent resident of Cyprus, who is absent abroad.

The registered owner allegedly sold the boat to the 30-year-old, who went on January 24 with two of his compatriots to the port of Latsi and picked it up, with the intention of taking it to Larnaca.

He then, under conditions being investigated, reportedly ran aground at the spot where he was located.

On Wednesday, extensive searches were carried out by a Coast Guard vessel, by drones as well as by Paphos police, without detecting anything.

The three persons on board the sailing boat are considered missing and all possibilities are being investigated until they are located and interrogated, he added.