The Maldives Police Service (MPS) will be seeking the help of foreign agencies in the ongoing investigation into the devastating government building fire, Commissioner of Police Ali Shujau said Saturday.
The fire, which broke out early Thursday morning, devastated the building housing the Ministry of Housing, Land and Urban Development, and the Ministry of Construction and Infrastructure. The adjacent Green Building, home to the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy, was also damaged in the incident.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Commissioner Shujau assured a comprehensive investigation into the incident, adding that police will seek the help of a foreign agency in the effort.
Commissioner Shujau said the government is taking necessary steps to arrange for the foreign team to join the investigation team, adding that he was confident that together, police will be able to identify the cause of the incident.
"The purpose of this is that the people will also want to know how such a devastating fire occurred. And to prevent such incidents in the future, the information obtained from such investigations will be significant," he said.
The investigation into the incident is already underway and Shujau said forensic teams were on duty combing the site, taking key samples and analyzing CCTV footage around the building.
According to Shujau, police are taking statements from eyewitnesses and people believed to have first-hand information about the incident are being questioned.
He also urged people with any information related to the incident to come forward, adding that a convenient system would be arranged to facilitate the process.
Chief of Defence Force Major General Ibrahim Hilmy said the first firefighters team rushed to the scene around 0630hrs on Thursday and began efforts to control the fire.