Maldives National Defence Force has covered a large area by sea and air in the search for the three individuals who went missing during the sinking of the 'Friends 4' supply boat. 

The boat sank last Wednesday night, and an MNDF officer and a Police officer who had been part of the rescue efforts, as well as the boat's captain went missing during the incident. 

MNDF said that the search operation has now covered 9,482 square miles. They earlier said that 7,512 square nautical miles via air and 1970,10 nautical miles by sea had been searched as of yesterday. However, none of the three have been located so far. 

Yesterday, the Foreign Ministry announced that they are seeking expertise and technical support from foreign partners for the ongoing search operation. 

The boat had been carrying gravel, stone aggregate and sand to an uninhabited island, Han'das, in Lhaviyani atoll when the boat started taking on water. At the time of the incident, there were eight persons onboard: seven foreign crew members and the boat's captain, Mohamed Hamdhoon. Authorities were able to rescue the seven crew members, but Hamdhoon went missing alongside the two security services personnel while attempting to bail out water from the sinking vessel. 

The MNDF officer who went missing, Ibrahim Ahmed, and Police Officer Ali Nafiu, had also been engaged in dewatering the boat when the vessel toppled. 

The boat capsized about 4.1 nautical miles outside of GA. Kudalafari, according to MNDF, who estimate that the sea in the area has a depth of 1,645m (5,489 feet). MNDF said that it would be impossible to recover the boat if it has sunk to this estimated depth. Authorities have also said that the boat is no longer visible to officers active in the area.