A young man employed by the Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) died on early Monday from injuries he sustained when a landing craft overturned off the Male’ port, leaving his friends, family, and the larger community of his home island of GA. Gemanafushi reeling in shock and sadness at his sudden passing. His death marks the third loss suffered by his family within the span of one-and-a-half years.
25-year-old Ali Aflah Abdulla, known to his friends as Koobe, succumbed to the serious injuries he sustained in the incident on early Monday. His death follows that of his father and mother, all within the span of one-and-a-half years.
Ali Aflah Abdulla, 25.
Gemanafushi Council’s executive Mohamed Shiyam told Sun that Koobe’s father, Abdulla Mohamed died in the island on May 25, 2024, after battling cancer.
He remembers Abdulla as a skilled worker, proficient in repairing electronics and doing engineering work. He died at the age of 67.
Koobe’s mother, Saleema Ibrahim, died of a heart attack on March 31. She was 56 years of age.
Koobe’s death comes seven months after his mother Saleema’s own sudden passing.
It comes a year after he got married and moved to Male’.
He and his wife were expecting their first child.
Ali Aflah Abdulla, 25.
On May 2, he shared a post on his Facebook praying for forgiveness for his sins.
“Oh Allah, let my death only reach me when You have forgiven my sins and You are pleased with me. Ameen,” reads the post.
Koobe is survived by four paternal half-siblings and eight maternal siblings. He was the youngest among them.
Koobe had worked as a driver for the Gemanafushi Council prior to moving to Male’. He also worked as a freelance photographer.
Shiyam remembers Koobe as a gentle and disciplined young man.
“Like his father, Aflah was very skilled. But he is most well known as a photographer. He worked as a photographer for a lot of weddings and other functions,” he said.
Combined photos of (from L-R) Ali Aflah Abdulla, 25; and Masud Hossain, 32.
The horrific overturning of the landing craft took place at around 03:30 pm Sunday, as 14 workers, including Koobe, were loading excavators into it.
Six of them - four Maldivian citizens and two foreign nationals - were rushed to the Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) with injuries.
Koobe and his coworker, 32-year-old Bangladeshi national Masud Hossain, sustained serious injuries and died at hospital.
Their tragic deaths have raised questions over workplace safety.