Hopes dim for Brit, who dived 100 feet from cruise ship as Air Force jets and volunteer boats join Day 4 of search

HOPE is fading for a missing British man who fell 30 meters from a cruise ship as the desperate search to find him enters a fourth day.

He is believed to be a man on a seven-day cruise trip from Greece to Croatia that began on August 3.

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Croatian authorities said on Friday that the “young Brit” was on board the Royal Caribbean ship Explorer of the Seas before he disappeared.

Croatian Air Force jets and volunteer boats have now joined the search operation, which was expanded on Sunday by the National Sea Search and Rescue Center.

The ships and planes patrol a wider area of ​​the Vis archipelago, located in the waters south of Croatia.

Rescuers explained that survival in these conditions was more likely due to the warm water – and they vowed not to give up.

Marin Keko, coordinator of the National Sea Search and Rescue Coordination Center, told local media HRT: “We don’t know the condition of the young man who fell into the sea, but as he is young it is possible that he will survive even longer.

“We hope for a positive result, we don’t want to think negatively.”

But Sanjin Dumanic, president of the Association of Croatian Sea Captains’ Associations, told national broadcaster HTV that hope was fading.

Dumanic said: “As the man has been at sea for more than 40 hours, we are already losing hope.

“We would all like him to be found, but 40 hours is a long time and we are losing hope that this search will end successfully.”

The missing Brit fell into the Adriatic Sea from a height of more than 30 meters at around 4:30 am local time.

Radovan Linić, coordinator of the National Sea Search and Rescue Coordination Center, said he could also have been injured after falling from the ship’s deck.

He added that the search was initially extended by about 12 hours as the warm sea was 24 degrees.

Linić said: “The man fell into the sea from a height of more than 30 meters, perhaps there was an injury during the fall.

“As the sea temperature is 24 degrees, this allows us to extend the search to at least 12 hours or more.

“Survival in these conditions is more than 12 hours, and the search takes twice as long, at least 24 hours.”

It comes after a British man who went missing after a trip to Thailand was found safe following a mysterious two-week search that spanned 5,000 miles.

Simon Robinson’s sister, who launched an appeal to find him, said the 27-year-old called her last night to confirm he was safe.

Sarah Robinson Dale told The Sun: “Simon called me and apologised.

“He didn’t say [where he was]. I’m so glad he’s okay.

“I didn’t ask if he was coming back. I was very relieved to hear his voice.”

In a Facebook post, Sarah said Simon was “sorry for worrying everyone”, adding: “Thank you to everyone who shared and supported us.”