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The search for the four sailors on board the yacht Cheeki Rafiki will be suspended if nothing is found by Friday night, the BBC reported, citing the US Coast Guard.

Captain Anthony Popiel said he had spoken to the yachtsmen's families to tell them that the search could be suspended.

The Cheeki Rafiki, based in Southampton, was sailing back to the UK from Antigua when it went missing.

The search was originally called off on Sunday but resumed again on Tuesday.

Capt Popiel said: "I informed them [the families] that the search would continue throughout the night and into tomorrow.

"If by midnight tomorrow [05:00 BST Saturday] there are no further developments to indicate search efforts would locate the crew alive we will suspend the search."

He also said he had "sincere compassion" for the families of the four men, and that his "thoughts and prayers" were with them.

The crew members are Paul Goslin, 56, from West Camel, Somerset; skipper Andrew Bridge, 22, from Farnham; Steve Warren, 52, from Bridgwater; and 22-year-old James Male, from Romsey.

The search has so far been focused on an area some 1,000 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and about 17,500 square miles of ocean have been covered by planes and boats working on behalf of the US Coast Guard.