A cargo vessel bound to Huvadhu Atoll, that left capital city Malé on Friday night has collided into a reef.

The ‘Hibaru’ had collided into the reef at the Kalhu Fahalafushi, an inhabited island in Thaa Atoll, and the incident had been notified.

The Maldives National Defence Force said that the incident had been reported shortly after 3:00 am early Saturday it had dispatched its central area units to assist the 85-foot vessel.

There were a total of nine people onboard the vessel; four Maldivians and five expatriates native to Bangladesh.