New Delhi: A fire swept through cramped lodgings of foreign workers in the Maldives capital Male leading to 10 deaths and injuring several others, news agency AFP reported citing the fire service.
In the fire, 9 Indians were reportedly killed as officials said they recovered 10 bodies from the upper floor of a building destroyed in the fire.
The fire is said to have 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, AFP reported.
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The report cited a security official as confirming that the dead included nine Indians and a Bangladesh national.
Foreign workers are said to make up about half of Male’s 250,000-strong population, mostly belonging to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
The High Commission of India in Maldives expressed grief and informed that it is in close contact with the Maldivian authorities.
We are deeply saddened by the tragic fire incident in Malé which has caused loss of lives, including reportedly of Indian nationals.
We are in close contact with the Maldivian authorities.
For any assistance, HCI can be reached on following numbers:
+9607361452 ; +9607790701
— India in Maldives (@HCIMaldives) November 10, 2022
According to AFP’s report, the foreign workers’ poor living conditions were brought to light during the COVID-19 pandemic when the infection spread three times faster in them as compared with locals. Maldivian political parties have criticised conditions the same.
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