Police Commissioner praises officers rescuing passengers from sinking speedboat

The Commissioner of Police Ali Shujau has praised the Maldives Police Service officers who extended support and rescued passengers from a sinking speedboat on Sunday.

Officers of Maldives Police Service took part in the rescue operation on Sunday morning to help passengers of a sinking speedboat between Alifu Dhaal atoll Mahibadhoo and Dhigurah.

The speedboat named ‘Huvan’ had been traveling from Dhigurah to Male’ City while police received reports of the vessel sinking around 07:57hrs on Sunday morning. The vessel was carrying 45 passengers, including four children and three crew members.

Police confirmed dispatching emergency response teams immediately and arranged for timely rescuing of stranded passengers. While all the passengers and crew members were safely rescued, they had been transported to Dhigurah immediately afterwards.

The Commissioner of Police had contacted all the officers involved in the rescue efforts and thanked them personally. Besides the CP, Deputy Commissioners Ismail Naveen and Farhad Fikry had joined the calls and extended their praises to the officers.

The CP highlighted the exemplary conduct from police officers, especially on a morning during Ramadan, and added he was proud of the officers.

The regional commander had also highlighted the timely response and assistance from public members, and expressed gratitude for the support from another private vessel in transporting the passengers and crew members to Dhigurah.

A second similar incident was reported on Sunday when a speedboat traveling outside of Kaafu atoll Thilafushi carrying 34 passengers and four crew members started sinking.

The Coat Guard of Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) successfully brought the vessel in to Thilafushi harbor around 14:00hrs on Sunday afternoon, and added there had been no casualties.

With the Maldives currently experiencing bad weather conditions including strong gusts and rough seas, the Maldives Meteorological Center (MET Office) and relevant authorities have urged taking extra caution for travel by sea.

Earlier on Saturday evening, MET Office issued an orange alert for central parts of the Maldives owing to worsening weather conditions, while the authority reports weather conditions would become more stable by Monday.