Asked at a White House news conference about the extraordinary and costly search efforts, Mr Clinton said that anyone who believed that the search had gone on too long should blame him.

"Until just a couple of days ago, the rescue and the recovery efforts that were undertaken were consistent with what would have been done in any other case," he said.

President Clinton: 'If anyone believes it was wrong to extend the search, I am to blame'

"Because the Coast Guard felt that they had the capacity to succeed in this, if they had a few more days, and because of the role of the Kennedy family in our national lives and because of the enormous losses that they have sustained in our lifetimes, I thought it was appropriate to give them a few more days," Mr Clinton said.

"If anyone believes that was wrong, the Coast Guard is not at fault, I am."

Earlier in the news conference, Mr Clinton said he had spoken with Rear Admiral Richard Larrabee of the US Coast Guard.

Mr Clinton quoted the admiral as saying that he thought there was "a chance to find something else" and that "because of who's involved, we ought to go on a little more".