A collision between two speed boats on Sunday evening left a Finnish tourist dead and nine other people injured.
The collision occurred between an express speedboat service to the island of Hulhumale’ – which is located near to the capital of Male’ – and another vessel belonging to the Bandos Island Resort and Spa property.
Police Spokesperson Hassan Haneef told Minivan News that a Finnish national had died following the collision, while eight Maldivians also received minor injuries. A 29-year old local woman was also injured in the incident, receiving what police described as severe head injuries. Authorities said her condition was now improving.
Haneef claimed that the matter was being treated as an accident until the exact cause of the incident could be identified. He added that existing transport regulations remained in place for all speed boat services following the incident.
However, a spokesperson for the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) said it had temporarily suspended its express speedboat service between Hulhumale’ and Male’ while it reviewed guest safety procedures.
“We believe we need to do some work on safety,” a company spokesperson told Minivan News. “We will be working with transport authorities, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and the police on the matter and will resume the services after that.”
Dhoni services will continue to run between Male’ and Hulhumale’ as normal, the MTCC added.
Asked to clarify its view on the collision, the state-owned company declined to comment on the incident until investigations were carried out both by itself and police.
Bandos Island Resort and Spa, which operated the other speedboat involved in the collision, said it did not wish to comment on the issue at the time when contacted by Minivan News.
“We are not in a situation to discuss the incident,” a spokesperson for the resort said today. “We are waiting for police to complete their investigations.”
The incident occurred around 8:25pm near the island of Dhoonidhoo in Kaafu Atoll.
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The launch drivers on MTCC trips to the airport and Hulhumale are reckless, putting speed as a priority forgetting the safety and comfort of the passengers.
I travel to airport 4 times a week on MTCC speedboat and I can bluntly say, these captains would have received their licenses through corrupt means. Among stupid blunders include:
1) Taking off at full speed immediately they are out of the Male harbor (no time for the engines to adapt to the temperature, waves, etc
2) During huge swells or heavy heavy waves, these captains prefer cutting through leaving passengers uncomfortable and praying for their lives
3) They over take or do not take precautions when other boats are close by.
4) In most cases the captain would be busy chewing nuts and having a good laugh with the crew..his hands off the steering wheel
5) Although its a rule to wear or at least having life saving jackets, the crew dont bother
Express services does not mean we need to get to destination in 5 minutes at the risk of our lives. I believe MTCC has failed in educating their staff on safety procedures and it is time the transport ministry takes action.
Speed a major issue on sea and on land. My question remains..what is the rush for????
Have to agree with "Facts". Some (not all!), especially young drivers behave the same on the Male'-Villimale' ferry. And we've got the same problem in taxi drivers - some seem to be more busy talking on their phone or watching a dharus on their screen. Sad, sad!
@Facts, when traveling through huge swells and waves, it's more dangerous to go broadside than cutting through.