The US Coast Guard has announced it is ending its search for six people aboard a medical transport aircraft that went down during a flight from Bermuda to Boston, after confirming that debris found off Nantucket, Massachusetts, belonged to the plane.
"The decision to suspend the search is never easy," Rear Admiral Matthew Lake, commander of the Coast Guard's Northeast District, said in a statement on Sunday.
According to Lake, the operation was ended after rescue teams spent about 66 hours covering 4,445 miles (7,150 km) by air and sea and confirmed that debris drifting near Nantucket came from the downed aircraft.
The Gulfstream G100 was carrying two pilots, two medical staff, a patient and a family member accompanying the patient. Clarence Togeretz, flight operations director at Canada's Latitude Air Ambulance, confirmed the details to public broadcaster CBC.
Officials said the four crew members were Canadian nationals, while the two passengers were from Bermuda.
In a statement on Sunday, Latitude Air Ambulance said: "Based on information from the authorities and the conclusion of the search-and-rescue phase, we must face the heartbreaking reality that the four members of the Latitude team, the patient and the family member accompanying the patient on flight Heartbeat 104 are presumed to have died."
Attention is now turning to what happened in the flight's final minutes, when tracking data showed the aircraft descending very rapidly and air traffic controllers trying unsuccessfully to re-establish contact. Authorities have not yet determined what caused the crash.
According to initial information, the aircraft had flown to Bermuda to pick up a patient and was on its way to Boston Logan International Airport. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) notified the Coast Guard at about 2 a.m. Saturday (06:00 GMT) after contact with the plane was lost.
At a news conference on Sunday, Rear Admiral Lake said the water around the debris area is about 80-90 feet (24-27 meters) deep. He offered his condolences to the victims' families and thanked the agencies involved in the operation.
Latitude Air Ambulance specializes in medical evacuation and repatriation flights, bringing patients home from other countries. According to the company, its missions typically involve two pilots and medical staff.
