Investigators have begun the task of trying to work out how a yacht and a dredger collided in near-perfect sailing conditions off the Suffolk coast.

Officers from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), working with the agencies involved in the search and rescue operation, are carrying out the inquiry – although it could be months before its full findings are published.

Specialist divers from the Norfolk Fire Service recovered the body of a woman from the sunken wreckage of the yacht Orca, around five nautical miles from Felixstowe.

She has been named as Bernadine Ingram, aged 57, from Butley near Woodbridge.

A post-mortem examination is also due to take place tomorrow.

A police spokesman said: 'As is usual practice the woman's death is being treated as unexplained and the coroner has been informed.'

The collision happened on Sunday afternoon when the Orca and the 98-metre dredger Shoreway collided. The yacht sank within five minutes and a man and a dog were pulled from the sea by the crew of the dredger, but the woman and a second dog were reported missing.

Initial findings of the investigation could be released anytime between a few weeks and a couple of months.