Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) has said that as it is about to be two weeks since three people have gone missing as they attempted to save a boat from sinking in Huvadhoo waters, it is unlikely they will be able to find them.
The latest information that has been shared on the MNDF's website regarding the search operation reads that everyone who escaped from the sinking vessel has been saved. The information also reads that as the boat has sunk to depths where human beings cannot dive to, those who are missing were likely unable to leave the boat as it sank.
MNDF stated that they have searched the entirety of Huvadhoo waters via air and sea in the search operation for the three missing individuals regarding the incident where the "Friends 4" supply boat capsized 4.1 nautical miles outside of GA. Kudalafari on the night of 5th August.
MNDF said they took into account that the vessel may have been moved due to the waves, and that they searched the direction of the waves, which included the Huvadhoo sea, Laamu Atoll's side of the reef system and the Gaafu Alifu Atoll side of the reef system.
According to the MNDF, a landing craft, police speedboat and an MNDF speedboat were close to the site where the vessel sank, allowing them to save those who had jumped overboard. They also said the boat had suddenly taken on water and sank at Huvadhoo's open water.
"Looking at the information we gathered from our efforts and from those we saved, there is a small chance that we will be able to find the individuals who have gone missing," said MNDF
The MNDF went on to say that the depth of the area the boat sank would be deeper than 1,600 meters and that is a depth where human beings would not be able to dive down to. They also said that it is a depth that foreign naval forces that use war submarines, both conventional and nuclear, do not operate at.
Important details of the operation
- An airplane from national airline Maldivian and a TB2 drone from the Maldives military was used in searching for the missing persons.
- The TB2 drone has infrared sensors made to detect things in the water at night, and was used in searching for them along the surface of the water.
- The Coast Guard vessel CGS Imaduddin, gifted to the Maldivian military by Australia and has the latest technology, was used in the search operation.
A United States of America (USA) Navy aircraft, the Boeing P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft, was used to search the Huvadhoo sea yesterday, and that it is a special airplane used in naval search and rescue operations and surveillance.
MNDF said that the aircraft was used to search an area totaling 6,300 nautical miles and the entirety of the Huvadhoo sea.
MNDF stated that it has been 11 days since the day of the incident and that they have searched an area totaling 17,220 nautical miles via air and a 2,790.10 nautical mile area by sea until yesterday 6:00 pm. They also stated they covered a 288 nautical mile area which included reef systems and beaches.
The vessel began sinking while on its way to Huvadhoo from Th. Madifushi, with the missing people being boat captain Mohamed Hamdhoon, MNDF officer Ibrahim Ahmed and police officer Ali Nafiu.
At the time of the incident, eight persons had been onboard the vessel: the boat's captain, Mohamed Hamdhoon, and seven foreign crew members. The seven crew members were rescued, but Hamdhoon went missing while working with the team bailing water out of the vessel to prevent it from sinking.
Mihaaru News cited a source as saying the three men had gone missing when the sinking vessel had toppled while they had been engaged in bailing water out of it to prevent it from sinking. A video of the incident that later emerged shows the vessel taking on water rapidly, with one end getting submerged. Just moments later, the entire boat sinks in, even as rescue efforts were ongoing, with another vessel active nearby.
