A team of Indian experts will provide technical assistance in the investigation into the fire that razed three ministries, Commissioner of Police (CP) Ali Shujau confirmed on Friday.
The police announced last Saturday that overseas technical assistance would be sought for the investigation.
In a message sent to the media via the police media team, Shujau said a specialist team of experts from India is currently working with the Maldives’ police to investigate the fire. No further details were provided.
While the team arrived on Friday, the two buildings and a large portion of the incident area had already been cleared. Many have criticised the authorities for cleaning up the area before the investigation was complete.
According to the police, the fire, which broke out on the morning of 12 December, started at the Green Building, which houses the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy. However, videos shared by the public seem to indicate that it first broke out at the tin structure occupied by the Ministry of Housing, Land and Urban Development, as well as the Ministry of Construction and Infrastructure.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated, with a forensic analysis currently ongoing, police said on Thursday.
No individuals were injured in the incident.
However, save for some data stored in the cloud, almost all the information on-site at the three ministries, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have been lost.
The ministries have currently resumed operations, using Dharubaaruge as a temporary base of operations.