Islanders allege black magic performed in Maalhos School after students inexplicably start to faint

At least four students in North Ari Atoll Malhos have been taken to hospitals in Male’ after they mysteriously fainted.

Five students attending the school have experienced the unusual incident, but the fifth student’s condition was not as serious as the other four.

One male student, who was the first to experience the unusual effects, reportedly lost conscious and was brought Male’ for treatment after he was found in a hypoxic condition, characterised by a lack of oxygen in the blood supply.

Several days later another female student experienced the same condition and was brought Male’ for treatment.

Third student studying at the school fainted while she was at home yesterday, and remains hospitalised in Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

‘’She fainted while she was at home and she was taken to the health centre immediately,’’ said a family member of the girl, no older than 14. ‘’She remained unconscious for more than two hours in the health centre.’’

The family member said the girl had not claimed to have observed anything unusual before suddenly fainting.

‘’She did not see or feel anything unusual before she just fainted like the others,’’ he said. ‘’The health centre advised her to come Male’ for more treatment and for necessary examinations.’’

He said that many tests conducted so far all showed the results as normal.

‘’It is very strange, we do not know what is going on,’’ he said.

He also said that the fifth student to experience the symptoms, who was of the same age and fainted yesterday, was brought Male’ with her.

‘’The other girl that was brought with her was in a far worse condition. She remained unconscious for more than three or four hours and she does not know what happened to her,” he said.

The family member said that more than four men were needed to hold the girl down when she became conscious, and people observed that she was extremely strong for a girl of her age.

‘’We are suspecting that this is something related to black magic practices,’’ he added.

Another islander, Ahmed Adil ‘Ahukko’, alleged that the cause of the fainting spells was the performance of black magic during the Local Councils Elections in an effort to win votes.

‘’Because it was the island school where the elections were held, the person who did it would probably do it to the school so that it has effect on anyone that enters there,’’ he claimed. ‘’Parents are very concerned and have expressed concern about it now.’’

Although the island is small and isolated with a population of only a few hundred, belief in black magic remains very common and many claim to be victims of such spiritual attacks.