Coastguard on Sunday said the local man who had gone missing while diving for sea cucumbers since Thursday had not received any formal diver training adding that the search has now been switched to the ocean floor.
Three people had dived into the sea from the 'Manfaa' boat, which had nine on board when it had departed to find seacucumbers. The other crew members in the boat had reported that the missing man had gone diving for a 45 minute session, but had failed to surface at the designated time.
Coastguard's principal director Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Saleem told reporters on Sunday stressed the dangers of multiple dives in quick succession pointing out that the untrained diver had done as many as three consecutive 45 minute dives on the same day.
"Everywhere in the world, divers are specifically trained and they follow a strict code. On average there are so many dives taking place in the Maldives on a daily basis. But such incidents are less when there are trained drivers involved," Saleem explained.
Noting that 73 percent of the people missing at sea are found by search rescue, Saleem however, refused to rule out the chances of finding the 23 year old diver alive.
But he was quick to say that the search is now more focused on the bottom of the ocean.
Saleem said the coastguard had already searched 1,000 nautical miles with the assistance of police divers and vessels from two nearby resorts.
He said the International Maritime Coordination Unit had also been notified which would convey the information to international vessels travelling around the area.
Saleem said the coastguard would soon decide on a date to call of the search.
