A fishing boat from Gaafaru Island en route to Malé ran aground Faafu Atoll Himithi Reef this Wednesday. The vessel, named ‘Hudanbaru 12’, ran aground the reef while carrying 10 tonnes of fish.
The incident was reported to the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) yesterday around 6:30 am and MNDF immediately mobilised to the location to provide aid to the people aboard the grounded fishing boat. The rescued people were transported to closeby Faafu Feeali Island. According to the Faafu Feeali Council President, Moosa Ahmed, only 2 of 16 people aboard the vessel at the time were injured, and all injuries sustained were minor. No major injuries have been reported thus far, however, the vessel was severely damaged and MNDF is working on refloating her. According to news sources, the vessel had broken from the middle during the incident.
Local news sources report that the vessel was uninsured at the time of the incident and losses are estimated at MVR 3 million. The owner of the boat has stated that the incident occured while the Captain had delegated the helm to attend to his morning prayers.
