Young woman, hit by falling metal post, dies of injuries

A young woman who was hit by a falling metal post in Malé last night died of injuries today.

Azfa Zuhair, 24 years, had suffered injuries to her head and spine, and was on life support when she passed away.

A family member said: “She’s an amazing woman. She was a quiet person. This is a huge tragedy to the family.”

Azfa is a medical student studying in Russia. She was on her summer holidays and was due to leave the Maldives on Tuesday.

When the accident occurred, she was sitting on the passenger seat of a motorcycle on Izzudeen Magu on the southwest side of Malé. The motorcycle was directly behind a lorry, which hit the metal post and caused it to fall on Azfa’s head.

The accident occurred at 11:30pm. Azfa was immediately taken to nearby Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

An IGMH spokesperson said the family was preparing to send Azfa abroad for treatment. “But despite our efforts she died today at 2:18 pm,” she said.

The metal post that hit Azfa was an old basketball hoop post, which had been revamped into a coconut palm, for the July 26 Independence Day celebrations. The post was set against the wall of the housing ministry building.

Local media report that the post had been kept outside the building to be thrown out as garbage. Some metal and concrete waste from Independence Day celebrations can still be seen on Malé’s streets.

According to the police, the driver of the lorry had driven off at the time, unaware that he had caused the metal post to fall.

The housing ministry was not responding to calls at the time of going to press.

Social media users have called on housing minister Dr Mohamed Muizz to apologize for the accident. Malé’s roads are badly paved, narrow and congested.