Two weeks after the incident, the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) confirmed on Friday that the search efforts for three individuals, including rescue personnel, who disappeared during the sinking of a supply ship in the Huvadhoo Sea, are still in progress.

The eight-member crew of ‘Friend 4’ departed from K. Thilafushi on August 2, transporting construction supplies like rock aggregate to islands. At approximately 10:40 pm on August 5, the boat issued a distress signal to the police as it started to take on water while navigating the Huvadhoo Sea after departing from Th. Madifushi.

The event occurred 4.1 nautical miles northeast of GA. Kudariqilu.

Seven of the eight crew members aboard the vessel were successfully saved, whereas three individuals, including a police officer and a soldier participating in the rescue mission, are unaccounted for.

This led MNDF to initiate a thorough search effort to locate 35-year-old Mohamed Hamdhoon from Th. Madifushi, Police Sergeant Ali Nafiu, aged 33, and MNDF Staff Sergeant Ibrahim Ahmed, aged 39.

MNDF has earlier indicated that the chances of locating the missing people were “slim,” given the vessel sank to over 1,600 metres, a depth that is beyond the capabilities of divers and traditional military submarines. Thursday signified precisely two weeks since they went missing.

In response to questions received from Sun on Friday, MNDF confirmed that search efforts are ongoing without any breaks. Officials indicated that the search is ongoing via both air and sea, but they did not reveal specific information about the overall area investigated so far.

Significantly, Home Minister Ali Ihusaan and Police Commissioner Ahmed Mohamed convened with the parents of the missing Sergeant Naafiu on Thursday. On August 12th, the Minister and Commissioner also visited the wife and child of Sergeant Ali Naafiu.