Our high commission extending assistance to affected Indians in Maldives: MEA

Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid on Thursday spoke to his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and conveyed condolences of the government and people of Maldives over the death of a number of Indians in a major fire in capital MaleIn the phone conversation Shahid informed Jaishankar that a full investigation has been ordered into the incident that killed at least 10 peopleThe fire broke out in the M Nirufehi area near the Maaveyo Mosque in MaleReceived a call from FM abdulla_shahid expressing condolences and assuring full support High Commission is closely working with Maldivian authorities on this matter Jaishankar tweetedIn another tweet he 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 familiesThe Maldivian foreign minister said he also spoke to his Bangladesh counterpartSpoke to EAM of India DrSJaishankar amp FM of Bangladesh Dr AKAbdul Momen and conveyed condolences of the Government amp people of Maldives to the families of the deceased in the fire incident in Male last night Informed that a full investigation is underway Shahid tweetedSeparately External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi described the incident as tragicAlso Read Eight Indians among 10 killed in Maldives fire Indian High Commission officialHe said the Indian high commission in Male is extending all possible assistance to the affected Indians and their familiesOur high commission there has clarified that local authorities have indicated that at least 10 bodies have been found Local authorities are engaged in identifying the bodies Bagchi saidHe was replying to a question on the incident during his weekly media briefingOur high commission is in close contact with the Maldivian authorities at various levels Our high commission is extending all possible assistance to the affected Indians and their families They have also opened a helpline Bagchi saidIt is a very unfortunate development Till such time we are able to identify the bodies as Indian citizens I would not like to comment or confirm how many have passed away he saidAccording to reports eight Indians were among 10 people who died in the fireWe would rather wait for our high commissioner and local authorities to give a clearer indication of how many of these 10 are Indian citizens The Maldivian government has announced a thorough investigation into it Lets wait for the details of that Bagchi saidHe said the fire broke out in a residential building for foreign workersSome versions say that there was a garage nearby the building We are looking at the details This building housed foreign workers including Indian citizens Bagchi saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever