A small fire broke out on the eighth floor of Velaanage building, which accommodates most of the government offices.

A spokesperson of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) said that the incident was reported at 10:28 pm on Wednesday and that a Fire and Rescue team was immediately dispatched to the scene.

Following the incident, MNDF officers helped evacuate the building, and the fire was extinguished soon afterwards.

According to the official, the fire started at the waiting area on the eighth floor, where the Education Ministry is located. While the cause of the fire is yet to be revealed, the fire is said to have broken out inside a paper box containing discarded papers.

MNDF further revealed Velaanaage's security guard, who had assisted in extinguishing the fire, had to be taken to ADK Hospital for treatment.