Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Dr. Mohamed Shainee has shared the statements given by the First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim regarding the explosion on the Presidential speedboat on the 28th of September.
Dr. Shainee said that the First Lady described the explosion felt like a gun had gone off on her back.
Dr. Shainee, the only Minister aboard the speedboat at the time of the explosion, stated that the device was placed under the seat normally used by the President. He said that day, President Yameen was sitting with MDA Leader Shiyam and First Lady was in the President’s seat.
“If the President had been on the seat it would have been more serious. Physics say that weight is a key factor in such explosion. If the President was sitting there at the time, he would have been hurled across the cabin, with the force of the explosion. The injuries would be more in that case,” he said.
At the time of the explosion, Dr. Shainee said that the entire cabin filled with smoke and therefore, no one was able to react to the situation for a while. He said that any action was taken after some of the smoke had been cleared. After the smoke cleared, Dr. Shainee said that they had attended to the First Lady, with the President individually inquiring if everyone aboard the speedboat was alright.
“The explosion occurred as it was nearing the jetty. We were deafened, stunned. I checked where the President was. I saw him a while later. He was with Shiyam and Dhona, he was standing on him own. So I knew he was alright. When he didn’t see his wife, he called out to her. She was lying near the door. I tried moving her. She was unresponsive. Nasir was unconscious as well. We were working to take her to the hospital,” he said.
“The explosion felt it took ages. I didn’t know a fire was on board. But when I looked at the video, I can see that there was a fire,” Dr. Shainee said.
Dr. Shainee added that he had been in close encounters over his career but with the events of the day transpiring as it did, he had full guarantee that the explosion was not a mechanical failure. He said the explosion was a deliberate attempt to assassinate the President, given the nature and the strength of the explosion.
“Debris from the explosion was on my shirt. I picked them out when I was waiting in the hospital. It was extremely fortunate that the explosion caused the windows to shatter. Otherwise many would have been affected by the thick smoke,” Dr. Shainee said.
First Lady said that the explosion felt like a gun on her back: Dr. Shainee
