Cypriot rescue teams, backed by Israeli and Greek forces, are sweeping the eastern Mediterranean for an Israeli yacht that disappeared in the heart of Storm Byron after sailing from Ashdod toward Cyprus. 

Contact with the vessel was lost just before it was due to reach Cypriot waters, in seas already hammered by gale-force winds and heavy rain.

Authorities in Larnaca activated Cyprus’s national search-and-rescue plan and have deployed helicopters, patrol boats, and drones across a large radius off the island’s southern coast.