A boat en-route Dhonakulhi from Kaafu atoll Kaashidhoo has sunk, stranding all aboard the vessel in sea.

Meanwhile, a Coastguard speedboat had rescued the stranded crewmen and passengers around 14:20hrs on Monday afternoon. They were travelling to Maalifushi, which is closeby.

Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) confirm all aboard the vessel were in stable condition, and the crew had included four locals and one expatriate.

Moreover, MNDF reports the vessel now identified as 'Fatholhu' faced engine malfunction and stopped operating en-route to Dhonakulhi.

At the time of the incident, the vessel was 9 miles outside of Kaashidhoo lagoon.

The national safety and security service, MNDF, claims they received the incident report around 12:29hrs of Monday afternoon. They added that the initial report they received claimed 6 on board, however 5 were on the vessel.