Mumbai, March 24 -- Hopes are fading for the rescue and recovery of Indian motor racing star Hari Singh and sailing stalwart commander (retired) Mahesh Ramchandra, 72 hours after their speedboat crashed in the Maldives on Friday. The search and rescue teams of the Maldivian police and Maldivian National Defence Force which have been scouring the seas since Friday morning and rescued five of the seven people involved in the accident, have however extended their search operations to seven days, said friends of Singh. The missing duo is part of a group holidaying on Raymond Industries' chairman Gautam Singhania's yacht Ashena parked in the Indian Ocean at Maldives. On Friday, after partying on board, Singhania and his guests reportedly decided to go racing on the speedboat, a little after midnight. Though there is no formal confirmation of who was driving the speedboat, local sources told industry magazine 'Autocar India' that it was Singhania who was behind the wheel. HT could not verify this independently. In addition to the two unidentified women- one Russian and one from the UK-there were five men on board: Singhania, 60; the five-time Indian rally champion Hari Singh, 59; another sporting icon and ace yachtsman (retd.) naval commander Mahesh Ramchandran, 58, who was also skippering the Ashena, Singhania's $15 million yacht; Bengaluru-based entrepreneur Manek Bhardwaj, who runs a supercar-tuning company Racetech India; and Jagdish Singh Aithani about whom there is, as yet, little information. The accident that happened approximately two nautical miles southwest of Keyodhoo, which is part of the Vaavu Atoll Council (VAC), was reported to the Maldivian National Defence Force at about 12.20 am on March 20. The impact of the crash of the speedboat which was custom-built for recreational racing, was so great that five of the seven people on board were flung into the sea. Shujau Ali, president of Vaavu Atoll Council, and the only Maldivian official speaking to the media, told HT that the local agent who handles the yacht informed them and then the council informed the local police. When the rescue team reached the boat, they only found two persons on board while five were still in the water, said Ali. The Russian woman was found drifting in the sea after about 45 minutes. "Two persons, including an Indian national (Bhardwaj), whose left arm had been severed from below the elbow, were brought to the hospital at Vaavu for treatment," he said. Bhardwaj has since been flown back to Bengaluru. When contacted, Atoll Commander Hasan Wajeeh and the investigating officer said they were unable to share information about the case as investigations were on, while Singhania's spokesperson called the incident a "serious mechanical failure." The lack of clarity and information about the accident has resulted in anguish and anger among the motor racing and sailing communities with many of them blaming Singhania for the accident on their social media. "There are speculations being spread on social media regarding an unfortunate speedboat accident involving a serious mechanical failure. It is disconcerting to note the irresponsible nature of comments circulating with total disregard for the facts. Gautam Singhania continues to recover under due care and is closely monitoring and supporting the ongoing search operations...," said his spokesperson on Monday. Ex-navy commander and solo circumnavigator Abhilash Tomy said Ramachandran is a stalwart of sailing. "There are very few Arjuna awardees in sailing, and he is one of them," Tomy told HT....