Maldives President Abdulla Yameen has cut short a personal trip to Malaysia and returned home to oversee relief measures after capital Male lost water supply due to a fire four days ago, an official said on Sunday.
President's Office spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz told reporters Yameen returned late on Saturday, cutting short his visit to Malaysia, where his son is said to be receiving medical treatment.
In Male, Minister of Defence Mohamed Nazim has said that damage to the capital's desalination plant is extensive, and could take between three days and a week to fully repair.
Water services to the capital Male were shut off on Thursday after a crippling fire damaged crucial components of the island's sole desalination facility -- the Male Water and Sewerages Company (MWSC) -- leaving over 130,000 people without water for bathing, cleaning, and cooking.
"We hope to achieve 100 percent in about a week. God willing, we will be able to get a good result in about three days," said Nazim, speaking on behalf of a presidential task force set up to handle the crisis.
While 60 percent of the repairs have been completed, he continued, the fire had caused considerable damage to the water treatment plants, requiring extensive repairs.
"The damage to the water treatment plants' panel board was a lot more than we had expected. Since the spare parts are not available in the Maldives, we must wait until we can acquire it," said Nazim.
Fresh supplies of water continue to arrive from abroad -- most notably from China and India -- with distribution being carried out by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) with the assistance of local NGOs alongside numerous private businesses.
The Chinese government has pledged to assist the water starved Maldives by working with the government to provide substantial amounts of drinking water at the earliest possible time, a statement from the embassy said on Saturday.
The Chinese government has arranged delivery of bottled water in two Chinese civil aircrafts to Male. The first plane has arrived with 12 tons bottled water at 6 a.m. Saturday morning local time.
Two Chinese air force crafts have also taken off from China carrying 40 tons of bottled water will arrive on Sunday night, according to the embassy.
An ocean rescue vessel of the Chinese navy suspended its escort mission and headed for Male port at 9 p.m. on Friday. With 960 tons fresh water and seawater desalting facility on board, the vessel is scheduled to arrive at the destination at 3 a.m. on Monday, Chinese Defense Ministry has said.
The government of India has also sent supplies, having delivered over 150 tons of water via military aircraft in the past 24 hours. A second Indian vessel, with reverse osmosis facilities capable of delivering 200 tons of water daily, is expected to arrive on Sunday with 800 tons of water.
Sri Lanka started sending water to the Maldives via Sri Lankan Airlines flights, while the United Nations in Maldives has said it will distribute 180 tons of rainwater stored under its premises in Male.
The Maldives government has set up water distribution centers at schools and other public spaces, with each person allowed two 1. 5 liter bottles, leading to the formation of large queues stretching around the capital.
Local IT enthusiasts have developed a mobile app to enable residents to locate nearby distribution centers.
In addition, water is being pumped every six hours by MWSC for one hour periods although low water pressure means that many of the capital's residents living in high rise apartments have received no supplies.
The MNDF has started distributing water through mobile tanks set up on military vehicles at various locations of the city, temporarily easing the queues at the water distribution centers.
