Large fire in Male' City building

A large fire blazed in Male City, burning a Cafe and an adjacent ten-storey building.

Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) said that the fire originated in a restaurant named Cafe' Tiolo in Boduthakurufaanu Magu and spread to the adjoining building "Gadhage Mohamed Fulhu Building" (H. Sunleet).

This building houses the headquarters of State Bank of India (SBI) Male Branch, and Ooredoo Maldives.

The original source of the fire in the cafe has now been controlled by the authorities. Both floors of the two-storey building of the cafe is in complete ruins.

The fire spread to the adjacent H. Sunleet bulding and climbed all the way to the tenth storey terrace.

While fire extinguishing efforts were ongoing, the site was visited by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Vice President Faisal Naseem, Defense Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi and Home Minister Imran Abdulla.

Defense Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi said the incident was reported at 2143hrs Friday night, and the fire was controlled by the Fire and Rescure Services by 2334hrs.

"We faced difficulty in accessing the ninth floor and above, which were behind large doors. These floors had residences of the owners of the building, who were living abroad. It took them a while to get through," the Minister said, speaking to the press.

The Minister said the people in the building and other adjacent buildings had a fair amount of time to vacate the buildings, and luckily no physical injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Imran Abdulla and Police Commissioner Mohamed Hameed confirmed that Maldives Police Service's Serious and Organised Crime Department.