The fire service said that a fire ripped through crowded foreign workers’ housing in Male, the capital of the Maldives, killing at least 10 people and injuring many more. According to reports, 10 bodies were found on the upper story of a structure that was burned in the fire, and 9 Indians were apparently killed in the blaze.
The ground-floor auto repair shop appeared to be where the fire started.
“We have found 10 bodies,” a fire service official said, adding that it took them about four hours to put out the fire, according to news agency AFP.
Another victim of the fire was a Bangladeshi national, according to AFP’s citation of a security official.
About half of Male’s 250,000 residents are said to be foreign workers, most of whom are from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.