Boat carrying 125 passengers runs aground off Hinnavaru

A boat carrying 125 passengers has run aground on a reef off Lh. Hinnavaru. 

Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) states the boat, Furaagu 2, had been travelling from Sh. Foakaidhoo to Male’ City when it ran aground on Gaaerifaru. 

The incident was reported to MNDF at approximately 08:30 pm on Friday. 

MNDF states officers are responding to the incident. 

The boat’s owner told Sun that the boat sustained massive damages in the incident.  

The true extent of the damage cannot be accessed until the boat is refloated, he said. 

Nearby Lh. Naifaru has been sending boats to rescue the stranded passengers. 

Naifaru councilor Ahmed Shifau told Sun that some of the passengers remain stranded. 

Residents of Naifaru are working non-stop to rescue them and bring them to Nafaru on dinghies, he said.

Shifau said the council and residents are coordinating to provide the passengers with food and water. 

He said that rooms have been readied from homes in Naifaru so the passengers can sleep. 

“We have divided them among the houses. The council and residents have made arrangements near the to feed them,” he said.