Foreign Minister Ali Sabry says that there are no reports of any Sri Lankan victims from the fire at the living quarters of expatriate workers in Male, the capital city of Maldives.
As many as 11 people, including eight Indians, were reportedly killed in the massive fire in Male on Thursday while injuring several others.
The bodies were recovered from the upper floor of a building that houses migrant workers from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, said news agency AFP quoting officials.
It said that the fire appears to have originated from a vehicle repair garage on the ground floor of the burned structure. A fire department official said that it took four hours to put out the blaze.
Most of the residents were believed to be expatriates from India and Bangladesh, and were trapped in the fire without a way out, officials told Reuters.
According to news portal SunOnline international, the fire broke out in M. Nirufehi area near the Maaveyo Mosque around 12:30 am.
The garage is located on the ground floor, while the first floor houses migrant workers.
The quarters had only ventilation – a single window, the report mentioned.
The Maldives National Defence Force Fire and Rescue Service informed that 28 people were evacuated from the building, while nine people were reported missing.
Seven of them were found dead, while two were taken to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital with severe burns, the report stated.
Firefighters later recovered two more bodies from the building. The fire was doused at 04:34 am, the report added.
Local authorities said eight of the deceased were Indian nationals while one person was from Bangladesh, Maldives news publication AVAS reported.
The nationalities of two other victims remain unknown so far. The sources revealed that some of the deceased people were trapped in their rooms and bathrooms, the report said.
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.
Meanwhile Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Thursday announced that the official function to mark the country’s Republic Day had been rescheduled, following the tragic fire incident in the capital city of Male.
The Republic Day function has been rescheduled for Friday in Dharubaaruge.
--With Agencies Inputs
