§ Mr. Bessellasked the Secretary of State for Defence at whose request Rescue Command at Plymouth recommenced the air search for the pleasure boat "Darlwin" on 3rd August.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThis decision was taken by the Naval Chief of Staff Plymouth and the Air Officer Commanding 19 Group, who commands the R.A.F. Rescue Coordination Centre, in consultation. All hope of finding survivors had been abandoned on the previous evening but the two officers decided that a search for bodies and wreckage should begin as soon as the weather conditions would permit.
§ Mr. Bessellasked the Secretary of State for Defence why the air search for the pleasure boat "Darlwin" was officially discontinued on the evening of Tuesday 2nd August, approximately 40 hours after the search commenced and before any trace of wreckage or bodies had been discovered.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesOn this day a Shackleton from R.A.F. St. Mawgan started a search at 8.07 a.m. and a helicopter from R.A.F. Chivenor was airborne at 10.35 a.m. Both were forced to terminate the search at 12.30 p.m. by impossible weather conditions.
By the early evening the Naval, R.A.F. and Coastguard authorities had reluctantly decided that all hope of finding survivors must be abandoned. Despite this decision, however, the R.A.F. helicopter, which had landed at Plymouth, took advantage of a temporary improvement in the weather conditions at 8.25 p.m. to carry out a close search of the area from Plymouth to Dodman Point.