Published analysis
Read the full article on Maldives News: MNDF puts Friend 4 at 1,600 metres, calls chances slim
Standfirst. Sixteen days after the sinking, the military gives a depth figure for the first time and says the three missing men are unlikely to be found.
Key facts
- The MNDF said on Friday 21 August that the chances of finding the three men missing from Friend 4 are “slim”, the first on-record downgrade since the vessel sank on 5 August, 16 days earlier.
- The wreck lies at more than 1,600 metres in the Huvadhoo sea, the first official depth figure, beyond the reach of divers or any submersible the Maldives has.
- The missing are Police Sgt Ali Nafiu, 33 (N. Manadhoo), captain Mohamed Hamdhoon, 35 (Th. Madifushi), and MNDF Staff Sgt Ibrahim Ahmed, 39; Nafiu went into the water to help others and was not recovered.
- Homeland Minister Ihusaan and the Commissioner of Police met Nafiu’s parents in Manadhoo on 20 August, describing chances as “very slim”; the air and sea search continues with no published end date.
Signals & links
No topic links yet. This story sits outside the current tourism-economy coverage.