An emergency motion was presented to parliament following two fishermen belonging to Huvadhoo Atoll suffering from decompression sickness being brought to Male' after being unable to treat them at nearby Thinadhoo island on November 18th.
The motion was proposed by MP for Kaashidhoo, Abdulla Jabir at Tuesday's parliament session.
While presenting the emergency motion, Jabir stated that local fishermen do not have adequate bait to fish near reef's and as a result are forced to dive in search for bait.
Jabir highlighted that these divers are regularly at risk of diving decompression sickness or "deco-ing" but these fishing atolls lack emergency treatment services, consequently costing the lives of many fishermen or at the very minimum, disabling them for the rest of their lives.
He stated that the purpose of the emergency motion is to shed light and bring the governments attention to the lack of resources at Thinadhoo Regional Hospital which endangers the lives of fishermen such as the two men transported to Male' in a critical condition.
The emergency motion was approved for parliamentary debate and debated on.
According to the Maldives national Defense Force (MNDF), the two men being treated for decompression sickness includes a 27 year old and a 39 year old Maldivian men.