At least 10 people, most of whom are reportedly Indians, died early Thursday in one of the worst fires witnessed in Male, the Maldivian capital and one of the most densely populated cities in the region.
The fire broke out in a building housing migrant workers.
A PTI report, quoting an Indian High Comission official, said eight Indians were among the dead.
A majority of the victims were Indian workers, according to local media reports quoting police and defence sector officials.
Many injured
One victim was believed to be a Bangladeshi worker, officials said. Several people residing in the building are said to be injured.
In a tweet, Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid said he spoke to the Foreign Ministers of India and Bangladesh and conveyed condolences on behalf of the government and people of the Maldives.
A senior government official in Male told The Hindu that the police were trying to ascertain the identities of the victims.
“Since some of the victims’ bodies are charred badly, it is hard to establish their identity immediately,” the official said over telephone.
In a tweet on Thursday evening, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said: “Deeply grieved by the tragic loss of lives in a fire incident in Male today. Full details regarding Indians being ascertained by the High Commission, who are contacting affected families.” The Indian High Commission in the Maldives said it was in “close contact” with the Maldivian authorities.
Condoling the death of the victims, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who also visited the site, said authorities were investigating the fire incident. The Maldives’ parliamentary speaker and former President Mohamed Nasheed said he was “appalled” to hear of the incident. “There must be a swift and thorough investigation into what happened, & the living conditions of expat labour in Maldives,” he said in a tweet.
Congested capital
The fire has yet again put a spotlight on the living conditions of migrant workers in the Maldives. A congested capital city, Malé is home to over 2.5 lakh people, or roughly half the island nation’s population. The International Labour Organisation estimates there are approximately 1.8 lakh migrant workers in the Maldives, making up about a third of the country’s population. Most of them come from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. Thousands remain undocumented. According to official sources, an estimated 80,000 Bangladeshi workers and at least 30,000 Indians are employed in the Maldives, spread between the capital city and the Indian Ocean archipelago’s atolls.
Following a visit to the Maldives in late 2019, UN Special Rapporteur Nils Melzer noted that migrant workers in the Maldives were often forced to share accommodation “with up to 200 other workers... sleeping in shifts in deplorable conditions.”
During the Covid-19 pandemic that began in 2020, migrant labourers in the Maldives came under sharp scrutiny. Rights watchdog Human Rights Watch said at the time that they faced a range of “entrenched abuses” from employers, including “deceptive recruitment practices, wage theft, passport confiscation, unsafe living and working conditions, and excessive work demands, which indicate forced labor and violate domestic and international standards.”
