Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has said that an aircraft from the national airline, Maldivian, is being used in the search for a missing boat.
The boat with four people on board departed from Thilafushi on Friday morning. It was headed to a resort island in Meemu atoll.
MNDF said the missing boat named "AAA-37" was travelling to Medhufushi island resort when it was reported missing.
There were four people on the boat, but the MNDF has not disclosed their nationalities.
MNDF Coast Guard vessel "Shaheedh Ali" is carrying out the search at sea while a Maldivian aircraft is also being used in the search efforts.
When questioned whether the MNDF would use the recently acquired drone, the spokesperson said there was no further information available at this time.
MNDF earlier reported that three people were on the missing boat. However, the boat's owner has now informed MNDF that there were four people on board.
The Maldives Meteorological Service (Met Office) issued a yellow alert for strong winds and rough seas on Friday.
