US and Italian aircraft have joined in the search for two French couples and a boy missing on a boat off Gozo.

The Armed Forces of Malta said in a statement this afternoon that there was still no trace of the five.

Their absence was reported at 4.30pm yesterday by the skipper of a yacht on which they had been staying in Gozo.

They were last seen leaving Xlendi on their boat after dinner at about midnight on Sunday-Monday night.

The AFM said the search had been somewhat hampered by heavy sea conditions and a 35 knot wind.

Assets assigned to the operation include the AFM’s King Air Maritime Patrol Aircraft as well as an Alouette III helicopter which conducted searches in the area South and South West of the Maltese Islands.

Covering a total of 1000 square nautical miles the AFM’s search efforts were complemented by further deployments of the Malta-based Italian Military Mission AB212 helicopter.

The AFM also sought the help of overseas forces. The US Sixth Fleet in Sicily deployed a P3 Orion aircraft while the Italian Coast Guard deployed a P166 out of Catania. Both these aircraft are currently conducting search flights under the command of the AFM’s Rescue Coordination Centre in Luqa.

No significant sightings have been reported, the AFM said.