The United States Coast Guard has suspended its search for a small medical transport aircraft that disappeared near Nantucket, Massachusetts, with all six people on board now presumed dead, US media reported this week.

The aircraft, which was operating as an air ambulance flight, vanished from radar over waters south of the island. Search and rescue crews combed the area by air and sea before the operation was called off, with officials concluding there was no realistic hope of finding survivors in the cold Atlantic conditions. Recovery efforts for wreckage and those lost are expected to continue.

The tragedy has drawn quiet attention in Bermuda, where air ambulance services are a lifeline for residents requiring specialist treatment overseas. Local medical evacuation flights regularly carry patients from the island to hospitals along the US East Coast, and aviation observers here say the incident underscores the risks faced by crews flying long overwater routes in small aircraft.

Bermuda's own emergency services maintain close ties with US Coast Guard counterparts, having cooperated on numerous search and rescue operations in the Atlantic over the years. While there is no indication of any Bermuda connection to the flight, officials on the island noted that the loss will be felt across the tight-knit international medevac community. American authorities are expected to investigate the cause of the disappearance, with the National Transportation Safety Board likely to lead the inquiry once wreckage is located.