Bangladeshi national dies after house fire

A Bangladeshi national has died following a house fire in the capital on Tuesday.

The 48-year old migrant worker died due to smoke inhalation while undergoing treatment, local media reported.

He had been asleep when the fire broke out at around 3:30 pm and was unconscious when he was taken to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital.

The MNDF Fire and Rescue service put out the fire around 4:50 pm.

The building, in the Maafannu ward, houses expatriates and the deceased was reported to be an undocumented migrant worker.

Defence Minister Adam Shareef visited the scene and called on employers to teach fire safety procedures to migrant workers.

The Maldives has been under scrutiny in recent years for human trafficking.

Around 130,000 migrant workers are believed to live in the country, including 60,000 undocumented workers, and most of them are Bangladeshi and Indian men working in the construction sector.

Photo: @MNDF_Official