Maldives declares emergency over drinking water shortage

The Maldives declared a state of emergency after a fire at the capital's only water sewage treatment plant has led to a shortage of drinking water.

About 100,000 people in Male, the capital, have been left without safe water to drink from the tap, according to Mohamed Shareef, a government minister.

The Maldivian government has appealed for aid from India, Sri Lanka, the United States and China.

India is sending five planes with water and two ships with parts that can help fix the machinery at the plant, according to Syed Akbaruddin, an Indian foreign ministry spokesman.

The first plane with water arrived on Friday afternoon.

“Last night, the Maldives foreign minister contacted us saying they were facing a grave emergency,” Mr Akbaruddin said. “For the next seven to eight days they are going to face extreme difficulty with water so they requested all assistance.”

The Maldivian Red Crescent has deployed 24 staff and 60 volunteers to distribute water.

The Maldives, a group of 1,190 coral islands southwest of India, has a population of about 400,000 people.

Reuters