NEW DELHI: In a rather tragic incident a 14 year old Maldivian boy died amid allegations that President Mohammed Muizzu denied permission for the use of an Indian Dornier aircraft that could have potentially saved his life, local media reported.
Maldives President, Mohamed Muizzu, office issued a statement on the demise of a child (in the aftermath of Indian Dorniers not being given permission). “Government has asked authorities to revise and modify the current protocols surrounding the emergency transfers of patients," the statement read.
The teen, battling a combination of a brain tumour and a stroke, saw his family desperately seeking an air ambulance to airlift him from the remote island of Wilmington in Gaaf Alif Villingili to Maldive's capital Male, where advanced medical care awaited.
The boy died on Saturday after he wasn’t airlifted in the Indian medical evacuation aircraft.
Opposition MP and former Minister Meekail Naseem hit out at Muizzu on X, writing: "People shouldn’t have to pay with their lives to satisfy the President’s animosity towards India."
This comes at a time when President Muizzu has set a March 15 deadline for 88 Indian personnel, who are associated with the two Dornier aircraft and one helicopter service that they use for humanitarian assistance and medical evacuation, to leave the country.
The Dornier aircraft, produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and provided by India, has been used extensively in the island nation for humanitarian purposes.