The relative peace of the Maldivian capital Male’ was shattered when a small bomb was detonated inside the Sultan Park this afternoon. Twelve tourists were seriously injured in the explosion.
Immediately following the incident the Police and members of the Maldives National Defence Force cordoned off the area and began their investigation. Although it wasn’t immediately clear what had caused the explosion, people who were at the area during the incident said that they had heard ‘a phone ring right before the loud explosion was heard’.
The wounded tourists had immediately been taken to the Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital and ADK Hospital. When Haveeru reporters went to ADK they found three burn victims, all of them tourists, being treated for their burns. One had suffered severe burns below the waist. The other two had suffered various burns all over their body. The others who were injured were a Chinese woman, a Japanese couple and two European tourists.
More deatils from Haveeru can be found here.
A number of bloggers are also expressing their concerns over the incident. Here are some of them.
First-ever bomb blast in the Maldives – Maldives Live
my thoughts on what happened today… – maail
THE EXPLOSION : WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? – Frozen Solid
Male’gai Bon gohvun aanmu v baa..?? – Ziyau
Silence break in sultan park – Forbidden Hex
Bomb Blasts in Maldives?? – Neobe
Baaru gadha ehche govai fi – Kathivalhi
