Noonu Atoll Landhoo island council on Friday vowed to look into claims that 'sorcery' could have been the cause of the mysterious deaths of two fishermen from the island.
According to the island council, the two fishermen who had worked on the same boat had died a week apart.
Council spokesperson Fazeel Hassan told Avas that a 49 fisherman died last Thursday while fishing. A week later the second fishermen died also while fishing, Fazeel explained.
Fazeel said both the victims had been close friends and had died under similar circumstances. Both had complained of feeling nauseous and chest pain before collapsing on the boat.
The mysterious nature of the deaths had sparked claims of sorcery which the island council said it would look into.
Council president Abdulla Arif said despite widespread reports of sorcery and black magic in some islands, there had never been any reports of such practice in Landhoo before.
Arif however. admitted that such a scenario was extremely unlikely but said the council was looking to launch a probe into the claims made by frightened residents of the island.
According to Fazeel, the duo had been in good health before their sudden demise. The boat owner who spoke to Avas was at a loss for words after losing two of his more experienced fisherman within a space of days.
Fazeel said the whole island has been plunged into fear and shock due to the similar nature of the two deaths.
"People are concerned because they were close friends who died on the same boat under similar circumstances. So its difficult for people to accept it as a mere coincidence. A lot of people are scared because of the mysterious nature of the deaths. The problem is that we still don't know what happened," Fazeel said.
