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Nine Indians among 10 killed in Maldives fire

At least 10 people died in a fire that broke out in a garage in Male, the Maldivian capital city, early on Thursday, officials said. The victims likely included workers from neighbouring countries, authorities said. “The Maldives Police Service is working to confirm their identities,” a top government official in Male told The Hindu.

In a tweet on Thursday morning, the National Disaster Management Authority of Maldives said: “NDMA has established an evacuation centre in Maafannu Stadium for those displaced and affected by the fire in Male. Arrangements are being made to provide relief assistance and support.” It made no mention of the casualties.
Firefighters try to douse a fire that broke out in a building lodging foreign workers in Maldives capital Male on November 10, 2022.

Mohamed Nasheed, Parliamentary Speaker and former President of the Maldives, offered his “deepest consoldences” over the fire tragedy. “Appalled to hear the news that 10 expat workers have died in a fire in Male. My deepest condolences to the family and friends of those who perished. There must be a swift and thorough investigation into what happened, & the living conditions of expat labour in Maldives,’ Nasheed tweeted.

The capital of the archipelago best known as an upmarket holiday destination is one of the world’s most densely populated cities. Officials said 10 bodies were recovered from the upper floor of a building destroyed in the fire, which originated from a ground-floor vehicle repair garage.

“We have found 10 bodies,” a fire service official said, adding that it took them about four hours to put out the fire.

A security official said the dead included nine Indians and a Bangladesh national. Maldivian political parties have criticised conditions for foreign workers. They are thought to make up about half of Male’s 250,000-strong population and are mostly from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Their poor living conditions were brought to light during the Covid-19 pandemic when the infection spread three times faster among foreign workers compared with locals.