Maldives: Teen Dies As Govt. Refuses To Use Indian Helicopter
Maldivian boy dies due to delayed medical evacuation; government blames procedural norms, evacuating company cites technical glitch amid diplomatic tensions with India.
A 13-year-old boy died in Malé, capital of Maldives due to a delay in crucial medical treatment allegedly caused because of Maldivian government’s reluctance to use Indian choppers.
According to the reports, the boy was a resident of the Villingili island, Maldives & battling a brain tumor and stroke. 2 days before his death, the boy’s condition turned critical and needed immediate medical attention. His family made distress calls requesting urgent medical evacuation from Villingili and transfer to Malé Government Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) but the distress calls went unanswered for 16 crucial hours. As a result, the boy reached the hospital quite late and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) but his condition worsened. In less than 2 days, the boy died at 11:10 am on 20th January 2024. The incident sparked protests near the hospital. The boy’s grief-stricken father cried heavily and announced that the culprit was the lack of a prompt medical response. Maldives’ Defence Minister Mohamed Ghassan responded to the protest and the national criticism for not utilizing Indian choppers by saying that 93% of evacuations are still carried out by Maldivian Airlines. He further stated that standard operating procedures do not require the President's permission for medical operations. The company responsible for medical evacuations in Maldives, Aasandha Company Limited issued a statement expressing regret over the patient's passing. They cited a last-minute "technical glitch" as the cause of the delay. But it looks like the Maldives government decided not to use them in the midst of the rising diplomatic tension between the two neighbours. While the foreign minister of India Dr. S Jaishankar met with the foreign minister of Maldives Mr. Moosa Zameer on 18th January 2024 to discuss the retrieval of the troops, no confirmation on Maldives canceling its order has come to light.
