Tag: accident

Two dead in Addu City link road accident

Two men died yesterday after their motorcycle collided with a pickup on the link road of Addu City.

Police identified the deceased as Hussain Juman Ali, 18, and Ibrahim Aswad, 27, both from the Hithadhoo island of the southernmost atoll.

The accident occurred in the causeway linking Hithadhoo and Gan, police said. The 60-year-old driver of the pickup has since been taken into police custody.

Numerous accidents have occurred on the link road, including an incident involving the Afghan national football team’s bus during the recent AFC Challenge Cup. Many more have resulted in fatalities on the 14km causeway – the longest road in the country.

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Motorcyclist in Afghan team bus crash tests positive for opiates

The motorcyclist said to have caused yesterday’s bus crash involving the Afghan national football team has tested positive for drugs.

Police have confirmed that the driver tested positive for opiates and also that he had no license.

Police and media reports describe the accident as having been caused when the driver attempted to overtake a van travelling in front of the team’s motorcade. The van was forced to break, causing the following vehicles to hit it from behind.

Five players and two team officials suffered minor injuries in the accident. All were released from hospital yesterday evening, except for Mustafa Azadzoy who was released this morning after experiencing pain in his hip.

One police officer accompanying the motorcade broke an arm, while a female protocol officer suffered head injuries. Eight others, including two soldiers and two locals also suffered injuries.

The team have now travelled to Malé where they will prepare for their semi-final match against Palestine on Tuesday (May 27).

The site of the accident – the 14-kilometer Link Road in Addu City – is the longest paved road in the country and is a notorious accident hot spot.

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Afghan football team injured in Addu City accident

Additional reporting by Zaheena Rasheed and Daniel Bosley

Five members and two officials of Afghanistan’s national football team have suffered minor injuries in a bus accident at 6:36pm on Addu City’s link road.

Afghan team captain Haroon Fakhruddin Amiri and coach Yousuf Kargar were among the injured.

The team was traveling to Herathera Island Resort following its group stage win against Laos in the ongoing Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup this evening.

One police officer accompanying the motorcade broke an arm, while a female protocol officer suffered head injuries. Eight others, including two soldiers and two locals also suffered injuries, an AFC media official told Minivan News.

Local media said vehicles in the motorcade accompanying the Afghanistan and Laos national teams collided when a local on a motorbike cut in front of the motorcade. Police at the hospital were refusing to give further details at the time of publication.

The teams are to fly to capital city Malé tonight, the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) has said.

Minister of Youth and Sports Mohamed Maleeh Jamal said the Addu City Regional Hospital has confirmed there are no serious injuries and said the government will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Assistant Secetary General of the Football Association of the Maldives (FAM), Mohamed Nasir, said he was deeply saddened by the accident.

“Accidents happen. We took all the precautions, security was in place. Police are investigating how a motorcade with sirens met with such an accident,” he said.

The 14-kilometer Link Road in Addu City is the longest paved road in the country and is notorious for fatal accidents due to reckless driving. Most recently, a 17-year-old broke his collarbone in an accident on April 7.

Addu City journalist and road safety campaigner Amy Jabeen highlighted the lack of traffic police on the link road and expressed hope that the unfortunate accident would raise awareness for better road safety in the city.

“We are a city without any traffic police, poor roads and a younger generation with no lane discipline,” said Amy, who has recently held discussions with the city council regarding improvements to local road safety.

Meanwhile, former President Mohamed Nasheed tweeted criticism of the logistics of the AFC Challenge Cup in Addu City saying, “The standards of the facilities and logistics in Addu are an insult to our people.”

The last-minute construction of the Addu City football stadium has been marred by allegations of corruption. None of the knockout stage matches or any match in which the Maldivian team was to play has been scheduled in Addu City.

The Maldives, Phillipines, Afghanistan, and Palestine have qualified for the semi-finals which will be held in Malé later this week.

Speaking to Minivan News prior to the accident, Director of the Maldives national team, Ali Suzain, said the FAM was hopeful that the Maldives team will win the Challenge Cup.

“The chances of going to the final is very high now that the Maldives national team has to play against Philippines in the semi-final. Having to play against Philippines is an advantage to Maldives,” Suzain said.

The AFC had only noted minor issues such as a supporter entering the football field during the first match and an official from the Kyrgystan national team throwing a water bottle onto the field, Suzain said.

“We were asked by the AFC to install doors in the V.I.P area after the Kyrgystan football federation president ran up and down the stair case and went in to the field and threw a water bottle inside,’’ he said. “We have now installed a door in the area.’’

The FAM was very pleased with the Maldives Police Service’s oversight of security at the football matches, he added.

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Week in review: April 6 – 12

In a varied week of news, protests, primates, and possessed plants all featured in the headlines.

The top story of the week, however, involved the tragic death of two port workers in Malé, killed by faulty equipment in an accident the union suggested could have been avoided.

Beloved public health figure Dr Ahmed Razee also passed away this week after more than three decades of public service.

Meanwhile, tests run following the death of a Malé resident the week before revealed high levels of opium and benzodiazepine in the blood of the youth – released from rehab just 24 hours earlier.

Statistics from the Drug Court this week revealed that 101 individuals have completed the mandatory rehab programmes that had been prescribed since the court’s introduction in August 2012.

The case of a Russian woman accused of smuggling drugs into the country was sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office, while the passport of the doctor who signed the form allowing a convicted drug dealer to leave the country was held by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

The ACC were also occupied with investigating alleged wrongdoing in the Ramazan night market contract, with the commission telling the new city council that the deal had been terminated last year – to the bemusement of Go Media, the company currently organising this year’s event.

Police were also kept busy with the recent rush of child abuse cases, with commentators unsure as to whether the recent spate of incidents represented a rise in offending or a greater willingness to report such crimes.

One crime not reported to police this week was the apparent offence committed by a ‘Jinn tree’ upon the residents of Haa Alif Thakandhoo, who took matters into their own hands, breaking into the school compound to hack down the accused.

Campaigners in neighbouring Haa Dhaalu atoll continued to gain support for their calls to bring resort development to the atoll, with the government assuring that the tourism industry’s ever-growing spoils would be equally distributed.

Teachers campaigning against pay discrepancies wore black to work this week, while civil servants seeking equal pay discussed a potential strike later in the month.

The Bar Association suggested that the government had failed to adequately consult the legal profession regarding new regulations to practice, as well as calling for the suspension of Chief Justice Ali Hameed after his alleged involvement in a sex-tape scandal.

The government’s plans to raise revenue continued this week, with MIRA expecting to receive an additional MVR110 million per year through the taxation of telecoms – revenue that will be essential should the soon-to-be concluded GMR arbitration case go against the state.

The Home Ministry was chastised for its failure to adhere to the schedule of the recently-implemented Anti-Torture Act, while the Environment Ministry revealed that euthanasia may be the only option left for the slow loris confiscated by police earlier this year.

The alcohol possession trial of departing MPs Abdulla Jabir and Hamid Abdul Ghafoor was postponed when the former was unable to attend after suffering health problems while in jail.

Legal challenges to March’s elections results continued to rise, casting doubt on the identities of a number of future MPs, scheduled to be sworn in on May 28.

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Man dies in motorcycle accident in Dhuvaafaru

A 21 year old man has died in an accident in the island of Dhuvaafaru in Raa Atoll on Saturday afternoon.

The man passed away at around 10.30pm on Saturday while he was receiving treatment in the island’s health centre for injuries sustained when falling off his motorcycle.

Police stated that they had gotten reports of the accident at 10:15pm and were preparing to assist the man’s transfer from Dhuvaafaru Health Centre to the regional hospital in Ungoofaaru when he passed away.

Police are further investigating the matter. The identity of the victim has not been revealed as of yet.

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Car crashes into military barracks’ gate

A speeding car crashed into the gate of the military barracks near the southwest harbour of Malé last night.

According to police, the 21-year-old male driver sustained head injuries in the accident and received treatment at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital.

The car was driving along the outer ring road Boduthakurufaanu Magu, veered out of control and crashed into the gate at Kalhuthukkala Koshi.

Both the gate and the front of the car were damaged in the accident.

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Fishing vessel splits in two mid-journey

A fishing vessel has split into two while it was out on a fishing trip with 15 fishermen on board on Thursday morning.

The 90 feet vessel, built from fibre, was towed to the island of Gemanafushi in Gaaf Alif Atoll with the aid of other boats later this morning.

None of the persons on board suffered any injuries, according to police reports.

Police stated that while they had received reports of the incident at 8am, the incident itself is believed to have taken place at approximately 6.30am. They stated that police had attended to the incident and worked to save the passengers with the assistance of the public.

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Condition of five Maldivians injured in India improving

The condition of five Maldivians injured in an accident while en route to Trivandrum from Agra, India is now improving reports local media.

According to local newspapers, the five Maldivians were traveling in a bus after visiting the Taj Mahal when it crashed into a gas tractor.

The Indian tour agent of the Maldivian family died in the accident.

The newspapers reported that they were all severely injured in the accident and required financial assistance to transfer them to a Trivandrum hospital in order to provide treatment under the ‘Asandha’ health insurance scheme.

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Three “seriously injured” in Rathafandhoo Accident

Three people, including a 14 year old boy, have been “seriously injured” in an accident on Gaaf Dhaalu Atoll Rathafandhoo Island today, police have reported.

Two men driving a motorcycle at high speed lost control of their vehicle on Rathafandhoo Island’s main road and slammed into the 14 year old, police said.

The 14 year old suffered grave injuries to his head and is being treated at Thinadhoo Island’s Regional Hospital. The two men are also being treated for injuries.

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