DUBAI // The British Royal Navy has confirmed its divers have taken part in the search for the British seaman Timmy MacColl, who went missing after a night out in Dubai.
The confirmation follows reports that British divers had been helping Dubai Police, who are leading the hunt. The divers were said to have been searching the waters around Port Rashid, where Mr MacColl's ship, HMS Westminster, was docked at the time of his disappearance.
"The Royal Navy continues to provide as much assistance as we can," said a spokesman. "That has included giving diving support."
It is understood the divers did not, as was reported, come from the minesweeper HMS Middleton but from other units.
Mr MacColl, 27, was last seen entering a taxi outside the Rock Bottom Cafe just after 2am on May 27. Friends paid the fare in advance and asked the driver to take him back to his ship, but he never arrived there.
His wife Rachael, who is due to give birth to the couple's third child in October, visited Dubai with other family members last month.
csimpson@thenational
