Evidence related to boat blast sent abroad for analysis

Pieces of evidence related to the explosion on Monday on the presidential speedboat have been sent abroad for analysis, as part of the investigation.

This has been confirmed to Sun Online by Information Officer of Maldives Police Service Ismail Ali.

Ismail added that it was not possible at this stage to reveal the countries the evidence has been dispatched to.

The explosion took place on the speedboat carrying President Abdulla Yameen and First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim as it approached Izzuddin Jetty in Malé on the morning of Monday, 28 September 2015.

Police immediately requested foreign assistance in the investigation, and a United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent arrived in the Maldives on Monday night.

Four more FBI agents arrived on the following night.

The investigation team also includes forensic teams from Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, and India.

President Yameen has set up a committee made up of police and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officers, to guarantee that such incidents are not repeated.

The President was unharmed, but First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim suffered four spine fractures, and has been advised by doctors to take bed rest for three weeks.

In addition to the president's wife, his bodyguard and a staff of the President’s Office suffered burns in the incident.