Two British visitors have died after what police suspect was a road accident on Kuredu Island Resort early Saturday morning.
Police were informed by resort management at 4:15am that two guests had been found with injuries beside one of the resort’s roads. A third individual was also injured in the incident and was taken to hospital, the Maldives Police Service said in a statement.
Police officers from Naifaru police station attended the resort and were joined by a special investigation team from police headquarters in the capital Male’.
“Police are currently conducting a full inquiry into the deaths and will release further details in due course,” the statement read.
“The identities of the two British nationals in question are not being revealed until police have spoken to their families.”
Local newspaper Haveeru reported a source from the resort as saying that the vehicle the tourists were riding had crashed into a large tree along the path to the western side of the island.
The source told Haveeru that police had closed off the area and that the bodies were airlifted to Male’ at 12.30pm today.
Kuredu had not responded to enquiries from Minivan News at time of press.
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It must be the DRP at work here. Maumoon and Yaamin must have done it.
Ask them where they were yesterday. I am sure they will not have good alibis.
In October of 2010, Sharon Duval, a 42 year old British tourist on holiday with her husband, died in this resort, Kuredhoo. Post-mortem investigations revealed cause of death as drowning dur to alcohol intoxication.
Her body was accidentally discovered much later by a guest, not the resort security.
The brief report from the police or the resort management raises so much suspicion on foul play. The lack of information on the third victim, unknown status of the golf-buggy, and sheer lax on the management security would definitely encourage Scotland Yard to investigate deeper.
It is a common thing to hear resort staff being fired after being caught either socializing, drinking or smoking on the beach at night. Guest areas and beaches are restricted areas at night for all except a few. Most resorts have Nepali Gorkas as security, or lets assume sufficient security.
The truth will be known when we finally come to know of this 'strange' third person who happens to be the only witness from this misterious 'GOALHI accident'. In the meantime, i demand the management to respond to following queries simply because this death and the previous can affect our English market heavily.
1) If you have security patrolling the entire island, how come no one found the dead body in 2010 that had satyed for hours on the beach?, till now you have not revealed who or when this couple was found.
2) Some Kuredhoo staff have leaked out information that the scene of accident was already tempered before the forensic team arrived (cleaned and fresh sand spread). If it is a fact, are you hiding anything?
3) Everyone knows Kuredhoo is the 'Party Island' of Maldives where guests and staff have fun till the wee hours of the morning. Years back MAT had to fire its drunken pilots who flew guests on an early morning flight.
If you care about your guests safety, why do you leave heavily drunk guests try find their way home on such a massive island? Do you ever consider accidents, rape cases, theft or even murder?
About 18 years back when ARI BEACH existed and was then the 'Party Island' of Maldives, the local manager made certain that every guest that was heavily drunk was escorted back to the room by secuirty. He even had a comfortbale two wheel gadya (cart) that delivered most of the blacked out guests doorstep to their rooms. Did you even here of a mysterious death then or even now?
Something is extremely wrong on this island and similar other islands who squeeze out every dollar from the tourist without giving back the much needed security or extra service.
Was the third person a licensed resort buggy driver or just a drunken staff?
A golf cart crashing into a tree isn't capable of killing two people. This isn't a fast moving vehicle we're talking about. Haveeru reports an extra pair of slippers in the area with blood on a nearby rock(s). It's really obvious that the management is trying to cover up what really happened here.
"Local newspaper Haveeru reported a source from the resort as saying that a golf cart in which the tourists were riding ... "
JJ, Haveeru specifically mentioned that according to the Police, the vehicle which they used was NOT a golf cart, but some other form of a vehicle.
Have a look at this link.
http://www.haveeru.com.mv/?page=details&id=115155
If they were Muslims, they would not have to face wrath of Allah hereafter.
condolences to the family of the couple. it is truly sad.
...midnight news and the story takes a new turn.
..it wasnt a golf-buggy as earlier reported, it is a four wheel vehicle that requires registration!!. Well, it may prove the fact it may have been a high speed accident!!
..well lets give the third victim and the police some time to come up with selling stories. In the meantime, we all are in prayer for the deceased and family.
..its been champa in headlines for a while, strange very strange...but time would tell
Drunk locals nothing new ..
ask around..some people know the full story..they are covering for an important person..drunk..on quad not buggy..drivers identity being covered up..got the picture?
and why is the owner's son being treated in hospital for injuries...
@Real please you are miss informed in your point 1) you state the body of Mrs Duval was not found for hours. This is very untrue she was found by my friends within an hour of her dying.
Very tragic.
Condolences to the families of the victims.
Hope we all get a clearer picture of the events soon.
were the couple in the buggy or hit by the buggy
A double fatal road accident on Kuredu? Unbelievable..I am looking at the photo on the island web pages..it has a road? A vehicle capable of enough speed to hit a tree and kill the occupants? Very mysterious.
My deepest condolences to the familes concerned on this tragic loss of life .
As for Real - I was the person who came across the body of the late Mrs Duval last October . I tried to administer cpr , unfortunately the poor lady had already passed away .Jeeza is right . It was wihin an hour of her passing . At present time , may I suggest respective facts are posted rather than gossip .
On the flip side to this , I would like to post a note to the Kuredu senior management . Deal with everyone in a considerable manner . And I ask this in response of what I consider to be a poor reaction my family and I recieved on our last visit whilst in severe shock . I would also like to pass on regards to the family of the late Mrs Duval . This must be such a hard time for them all with Kuredu being discussed within the media for unfortunate reasons .
This is so sad. They had a 6mth old baby who is now an orphan.
I don't know al the circumstances of the accident, but anything with wheels can go fast enough to kill if it's out of control & going downhill, they certainly wouldn't be the first to die in golf buggy accidents.
owner's son was apprehended by police upon arrive to TMA seaplane base and is being treated under custody
Truly gutted at this news. We just flew home from our honeymoon on Kuredu on Thursday. In response to Real's post - Kuredu is far from a "party island" it was the most laid back, idylic holiday I have ever been on. Couples and families pretty much keeping themselves to themselves.
Kuredu is not a large island, no accommodation is that far to walk to and to suggest rape/theft seems ridiculous.
Kuredu felt like a community, the staff were polite and in the main seen and not heard. I don't believe there was golf buggies on the island, although I did see a quad. The only thing that seems strange is for 2 British people to have been offered a ride on it.
Sympathies to the couple and their families, I started my married life 2 weeks ago on Kuredu and for this to happen to another couple is so sad.
Hi there,
I have just returned from this island. The vehicle in question will possibly be a quad bike which we regularly saw -this machine was outside reception area. This machine was powerful enough and fast enough to cause this accident.
all stories different, but the real story is the hotel owner son, ( finland) he was drinking lots his drive a golf car, he did acciden. why the different stories, why the finland management don,t want give a truth news.
@Gem, I'm not sure how you could get 3 people on a quad bike, even if they were all drunk! Strangely, there is nothing on the resort news pages about this. Quad bikes are notoriously unstable machines.
Condolences to all the families. So very sad to hear thus news
Two British nationals found dead after suspected road accident at Kuredu
WOW what a headline!!!
People please remember this is small island resort for holiday makers. First of all this is not a city with cemented streets. There are hardly some sandy walk ways. Please remember that the vehical involved this very fishy incident is not speedy Mercedes crushed in Paris Tunel. Also it is worth to mention Maldives police service is lacking forensic specialists to do the investigation.
I doubt that the truth will be ever found…
We are just back from the same island a few days ago, spent 10 days there. While I was there,I was out till about 4 on the Friday night the week before the incident, which is the night the live DJ comes to the island. On the night, the son of the owner (Swedish...not finnish) gave me a lift home on the very same quad bike. I think it was a powerful automatic suzuki. Seems like this is the same thing as what happened to the couple...My sincere condolences to their families.
Report from The Sun newspaper: UK: A NEWLYWED British couple have died at a resort in the Maldives after a quad bike they were on hit a tree.
Jonathan and Emma Gray were killed yesterday in the crash as they were being driven back to their room.
The couple were on honeymoon and had only married at St Bartholomew's church in the pretty village of Ripponden, in West Yorks, last Saturday.
Maldives Police Service said the Grays, who were staying at the Kuredu Island Resort and Spa in the idyllic holiday destination, were found at a roadside in the resort.
A spokesman added that a third person was also injured and was in hospital.
Primary school teacher Emma, 25, told of her excitement on Facebook the day before her wedding, writing: "Very excited and nervous about one of the biggest days of my life x.
"A big thanks got everyones well wishes and support x cu soon."
Horror ... newlyweds were staying at the Kuredu Island Resort and Spa in the Maldives
The couple's bodies are expected to be flown back to Britain later this week.
Police spokesman Ahmed Shiyam said: "We have a full team of officers investigating the tragic deaths of this couple. What we know so far is that they were being driven back to their room at around 4am on Saturday when their quad vehicle was involved in an accident.
"It appears that their vehicle crashed into a tree and they suffered fatal injuries. The driver of the quad bike was also seriously injured and is being treated at hospital. At this stage we are sure that this was an accident.
"However, we continue to investigate the circumstances of the incident and our officers will establish exactly what happened in the moments before the crash.
"It is too soon to say whether the vehicle was travelling too quickly or to comment on who might have been responsible.
"At this stage all causes of action remain open to us and we cannot rule out criminal proceedings in the future."
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the deaths of two British Nationals in Kuredu Island Resort and Spa, Maldives on August 6 2011.
"Our thoughts are with the families at this sad time.
"We are providing consular assistance and liaising with both the police and the local authorities."
@B&B, in that article, the photo shows a baby, maybe 6 months old. Not clear if it is theirs, if so I assume it was left in England.
How come there are no pictures of the Quad Bike and also if it hit a tree with three poeple on it surely they would have been thrown clear I dont think they would have all struck the tree surely the driver would have been killed .there is something fishy about this story it all doe's not add up .