Maldives:14-year-old dies after President Muizzu 'denies approval' to use Indian plane for airlift

A 14-year-old boy died in Maldivian capital Male after President Mohamed Muizzu's administration did not approve the use of an India-given Dornier aircraft for his airlift.

Advanced light helicopters (ALH) and Dornier aircraft provided by India to the South Asian archipelago nation have been extensively used in the past for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

According to reports in the local media, pro-China President Muizzu has grounded all Indian Dornier aircrafttill Indian troops stationed in The Maldives are withdrawn by New Delhi.

What happened?

A 14-year-old brain tumour patient suffered a stroke and had to be transported from his home in Gaaf Ali Villingili to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in the capital Male.

According to reports in the Maldivian media, the family alleged that the authorities failed to arrange medical evacuation promptly.

"We called Island Aviation to get him to Male' immediately after the stroke but they did not answer our calls. They answered the phone at 8:30 am on Thursday. The solution is to have an air ambulance for such cases," Maldivian publicationAdhadhu quoted the boy’s father as saying.

The boy was reportedly brought to Male 16 hours after the emergency evacuation request was made.

Upon arrival, the boy was immediately admitted to an Intensive Care Unit where he reportedly died.

Spotlight on Muizzu's 'animosity towards India'

Reacting to the death of the boy, Maldives MP Meekail Naseem said, "People shouldn’t have to pay with their lives to satisfy the President’s animosity towards India".

This development comes as India-Maldives ties have gone sour followingracist comments by Maldivian ministers,now-suspended,against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian people in general.

One of the first decisions that Maldives' new president Mohamed Muizzu took afterassuming office was to ask India to pull out all its military personnel.

India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar recently met Maldives Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer in Kampala at the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summitto discuss bilateral ties as well asthe withdrawal of Indian troops from the Maldives.

Jaishankar in his post on X mentioned that they had a 'frank conversation', while Zameer mentioned talking about the troop withdrawal.

Maldives modifying 'current protocols'

Following the death of the 14-year-old, the Maldives president's office has issued a statement saying that the govt has asked "authorities to revise and modify the current protocols surrounding the emergency transfers of patients"

(With inputs from agencies)