Seafarers urged to exercise caution due to goods adrift from sunken safari boat
Seafarers have been cautioned
The safari vessel sank enroute to capital Malé City from Bolifushi, on Sunday
Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) has urged caution from seafarers, as goods onboard the safari that sank near Thilafushi island in Kaafu atoll Sunday, are adrift in the region.
The incident was reported to MNDF at around 8:39am on Sunday.
MNDF reported that the safari vessel sank four nautical miles south-west of Thilafushi island and that some of the goods onboard are currently drifting east. Seafarers in the region have been cautioned regarding this, especially when traveling at night.
One fatality was confirmed in connection to the incident. The deceased has been identified as a 41-year-old foreigner.
A total of seven individuals were brought into the hospital due to the incident and reports indicate that 17 persons were onboard when the safari set off towards the capital, before being engulfed in the stormy waters and raging winds.
Those onboard were carried to safety to the capital city, onboard the MNDF Coastguard and another vessel.
This comes at a time the authority has cautioned against the bad weather prevailing nationwide.
Maldives Meteorological Service has been issuing a number of white, yellow and even orange alerts stemming from the precarious weather conditions.
The department predicts strong winds and rough seas to prevail and has cautioned all, especially seafarers to always check the latest weather updates prior to traveling.
Several reports of incidents at sea have been reported at a time Maldives is enveloped in the bad weather of southwest monsoon.
