Man drowns while out swimming in Mathiveri lagoon

haveeru
A 32-year-old man drowned while out swimming in the lagoon of North Ari atoll Mathiveri on Saturday afternoon.

According to the Police Office, Ibrahim Visham of H. Faalandhoshuge, had drowned while out swimming in the lagoon with some family members.

The Island Chief of Mathiveri, Dhonmanik Hassan, said that Visham had drowned while trying to swim to a small uninhabited island called Mathiverifinolhu, located around 200ft away from Mathiveri. Although the channel between the islands was pretty shallow there was an area which was very deep and that was the place where Visham had drowned in, Dhonmanik said.

“When he had reached the deep part of the channel he had apparently waved his arms and shouted for help,” Dhonmanik said. “When his wife and family saw his thrashing they rushed ashore to find help. By the time help arrived he had gone under. By the time he was taken to the Health Centre he was dead.”

Dhonmanik further said that Visham was a healthy man who knew how to swim but he had on that day complained about cramps in his leg. It was most likely he had drowned because he had been unable to swim due to the cramps, Dhonmanik said, and added that Visham was a regular visitor to the island during the holidays.