Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has revealed that a large area has been searched by sea and air to locate the cargo vessel that went missing en route to M. Madifushi after departing from K. Thilafushi.

MNDF said that the search for the missing vessel - AAA-37 - is ongoing and that Coast Guard has search a large area east of Raiymandhoo in M. Atoll.

MNDf said a total of 4,519 square nautical miles have been searched so far by sea and air to locate the vessel that was carrying 3 Bangladeshis and 1 Maldivian.

The vessel was reported missing around 1720hrs on Saturday.

MNDF has appealed for the public to cal Coast Guard's helpline 191 if they have any information regarding the vessel.