Gulhifalhu fire: Human remains found amid search for missing Afcons’ worker

Human remains have been found on Sunday at the site of the fire in Gulhifalhu amidst the search for a missing worker from Afcons Infrastructure.

In the message shared by Maldives Police Services, it was noted that a search operation commenced as soon as those residing there noted one among them to be missing. It was also stated that their affords to locate the missing worker, what is believed to be human remains have been found at the site.

Additionally, Police said that investigations needed to confirm whether it is human remains, or if they are of the worker were currently ongoing.

The fire incident occurred in the accommodation block of Afcons Infrastructure, in K. Gulhifalhu early Friday.

Gulhifalhu houses some 800 workers from Afcons, an Indian contractor awarded multiple projects in Maldives, including the Thilamale’ Bridge project.

This incident resulted in injuries to 76 workers. Out of the 76 people that sustained injuries – 63 people were treated at the Tree Top Hospital in Hulhumale’, while 13 were treated at the Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in Male’.

“They include six people who are seriously injured,” a police spokesperson said.

The fire was reported to Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) at 12:31 am. According to MNDF, firefighters were immediately dispatched to the scene. They managed to put out the fire at 01:52 am.

Commenting regarding the incident – Afcons said that the fire originated at a tent that housed staff from the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), which resulted in injuries to workers of the company.

While the cause of the fire has not yet been identified – Afcons workers demonstrated at Gulhifalhu expressing their concerns. The company said they were in discussions with the workers, to address their concerns.

There are over thousands of Afcon in the Maldives working on Thilamale’ bridge project. While 800 workers are based at Gulhifalhu the remaining 200 are based at Male’ Bridge Site.