Five dead in tragic accident at sea

Five people died on Thursday after a speedboat capsized near the northern island of Hanimadhoo in Haa Dhaal atoll.

The small vessel was travelling with 10 people from the nearby Nolhivaranfaru island when it turned over on the southern reef of Hanimadhoo around noon, Colonel Mohamed Saleem, principal director of the coastguard, told the press.

One man, three women and a child drowned, he confirmed. The five survivors are being treated at the Hanimadhoo Hospital.

Local media identified the victims as Hussain Abdulla, a long-serving teacher at the Nolhivaranfaru School, his wife Mariyam Manike, his daughter Guraisha and granddaughter Eeraa. According to Avas, the fifth victim was a woman named Aishath Ali, the wife of another teacher at the Nolhivaranfaru School.