Volcanic island to be searched for missing yachties

File photo / Brett Phibbs

Crew from a fishing boat will spend the day searching a rocky volcanic island near Tonga in the hope two missing sailors, whose wrecked yacht was found on Thursday night, have made it ashore.

An extensive aerial and sea search has so far failed to find the men, both in their 60s, from Australia and England.

They reported via a satellite phone to a relative in Victoria that they had run aground and their 50ft Bavaria yacht Navillus was breaking up.

An emergency locator beacon was activated at the same time, around 10.30pm.

The yacht's hull and lots of debris has been located, as has its dinghy, an undeployed liferaft and a numerous life jackets.

The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ), which is coordinating the search, said in a statement that an available fishing boat had been contacted and asked to conduct a land search of the island of Late, west of the island of Vava'u, Tonga.

"A search party of six is heading out to the island. It is expected they will spend the day searching the island. The island is small with very rocky, volcanic terrain."

Search and rescue mission coordinator John Dickson said crew members from search vessels had already landed on Late to check the most likely landing points for signs of the men coming ashore.

The yacht is understood to have been en route from the Caribbean to Bundaberg.

Police in Victoria are coordinating contact with the next of kin.