Sea Ejection Search and Rescue Procedures

A IN Sea Harrier trainer was lost over the Arabian Sea with both pilots ejecting safely.

While one was found in the ensuing search, the other has still not been located about 60hours(time at sea as I write this) after the ejection.

Crash in the Arabian Sea
One pilot still missing

I was wondering how long do normal search and rescue ops continue after the ejection.

Sea harrier T-Mk60:


Now I presume it wasn't an underwater ejection over they would've found both immediately.
I'm not sure how long a pilot can last on his inflatable life vest and supplies.
I don't think the waters over which the ejection took place are shark-infested, and repellent supply is plentiful.
I wonder what could be keeping them from finding him esp since they've found one guy.
They've got helis, ships a a/c looking.

It depends on a LOT of factors. If he was conscious when he hit the water, if he didn't drown under his chute (which has happened quite a few times), if he was able to get his ELT/radio operational...

As for how long he can last, it depends on if he got into the raft, and how cold the water is. In the raft, he can last several days on the supplies he has. He'll be in AWFUL shape when they find him, but I've heard of pilots going days in the raft before being found. They were usually severely dehydrated though.

The big thing they always tell pilots is to get together. You get near the other pilot and you stay together in your rafts, so that when they find one, they find both. If they didn't do that in this case, I'm assuming that either they were separated during the ejection and didn't see each other, or one was knocked unconscious.

So there's a raft involved?
Where is this raft housed? In the ejection seat?
I thought all he had was his inflatable-vest flight suit.
We're talking abut the Sea Harrier here..

It's part of the survival kit that's with the ejection seat. Pilots use their inflatable jackets that they wear to keep afloat, and then they remove the raft from their kit, and inflate it. The raft is kept in the big bag that they release as they come down. It hangs below their feet. If they DIDN'T have a raft, they would die from exposure long before anyone could get to them in MANY oceans. They HAVE to get out of the water, and a raft is the best way to do that until they can be rescued.