Maldives Fire: The fire broke out in the M. Nirufehi area near Maaveyo Mosque around 12:30 PM
Male, Maldives:
Eight Indians were among 10 people who died early this morning when a fire broke out in the garage beneath a cramped living quarters housing foreign workers in the Maldivian capital, an Indian High Commission official said.
The fire broke out around 12:30 p.m. in the M. Nirufehi area near Maaveyo Mosque, according to news portal SunOnline international.
“Ten people have been confirmed dead, eight of whom are Indian nationals. We have yet to establish the nationality of the other two victims,” Ramdhir Singh, Welfare Officer at India’s High Commission, told Press Trust of India.
In a previously posted tweet, India’s High Commission said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic fire incident in Male which has resulted in the loss of lives, reportedly including Indian nationals. We are in close contact with the Maldivian authorities” .
The garage is on the ground floor, while the first floor housed migrant workers.
The living quarters had only one window, the report said.
The Maldives National Defense Force Fire and Rescue Service said 28 people had been evacuated from the building, the report said.
Seven of them were found dead, while two were taken to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital with severe burns.
The fire was extinguished at 4:34 a.m., it added. Two fires were reported in the garage, the last of which occurred two months ago, the report said.
Foreign workers make up about half of Male’s 250,000 population, who come mainly from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NewsMadura staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
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