Bank of Maldives (BML) has temporarily closed down their USD ATM center located at Marine Dream in Henveiru-ward of capital Malé City.

The decision was reached following a fire that broke out in the building adjacent to the ATM center, close to 10pm on Friday night.

The country’s national bank revealed that customers may continue to use other ATM centers across the Greater Malé Region.

As the closed-down ATM center is currently the only center where customers can withdraw USD in the capital city, BML pushed customers to deposit and withdraw USD from ATM centers in ‘Renaatus Ithaa Mui’ in Hulhumalé, as well as Velana International Airport.

The fire is to have originated from Café Tiolo and spread to the top floors and adjacent buildings within minutes.

Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) dispatched a team of firefighters to the region and was able to extinguish the raging fire a little past 11pm.

Authorities reported that no injuries were caused in the fire and while Defense Minister Mariya Didi had assured that shelter will be provided for families affected if required, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has since revealed that there are no families that had their households affected by the flames.