Contact established with missing vessel: MNDF

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has said today that they have established contact with the cargo vessel that went missing last Friday.

The vessel 'AAA-37' was carrying cargo from Kaafu Atoll Thilafushi to Meemu Atoll Medhufushi Island Resort, approximately 140 km from Velana International Airport. The vessel, with four people onboard, including 1 local and 3 foreigners, left Thilafushi at 6:00 hrs on Friday morning. The vessel was reported missing at 17:15 hrs on the same evening.

MNDF has searched over 10,000 nautical miles by sea and air to locate the vessel and the passengers onboard.

MNDF reports that the Coastguard ship 'Shaheedh Ali' is currently headed towards the location of the vessel.

However, the condition of the passengers is not yet clear.

With the weather worsening in the Maldives as the onslaught of the Southwest monsoon intensifies, the Maldives Meteorological Service (MET Office) has issued a White Alert from Laamu atoll in the southern-central Maldives to Addu atoll, the southernmost atoll.

MET forecasts strong winds of 22-27 miles per hour and rough seas in these regions.