Elderly man dies after boat fire

A 62-year-old man on a boat that caught fire en route from Malé to Vaanee in Dhaalu atoll died Monday morning.

Mohamed Ahmed, from the Kibidhooge house in Fuvahmulah, died after he was taken on a sea ambulance to the Faafu atoll hospital on Nilandhoo, police said.

According to media reports, he is believed to have died of suffocation or shock as there were no burns on his body.

The Maldives National Defence Force coastguard was alerted around 4:45am after the Ravaanaa boat caught fire near the Filitheyo resort in Faafu atoll.

There were seven Maldivians and nine foreigners on the Fuvahmulah cargo boat, all of whom jumped overboard when the fire broke out.

They were rescued by a boat that spotted the fire. Apart from the elderly man whose condition was serious, the other 15 people were taken on a sea ambulance to a different island.

The Ravaanaa boat was completely destroyed when the fire was put out by firefighters on a coastguard vessel.

"Ravaanaa" Boat gai hin’gi alifaanuge haadhisaa control kurumugai MNDF Fire and Rescue Service in dhanee harakaaiytherivamun pic.twitter.com/yiWlPgUmVz

— Maldives National Defence Force (@MNDF_Official) February 18, 2019

Photo from MNDF