Google – AFP, 30 December 2013
A file
picture dated on November 12, 2007 shows a luxury island resort
in the Maldives
(AFP, Sanka Vidanagama)
|
Malé — A
dead body has washed up at an exclusive island resort in the Maldives where
English football star David Beckham is taking a hideaway Christmas holiday with
his family, police said Monday.
Investigations
were underway to establish the cause of death of the man, whose body was found
floating near a jetty on Sunday at the One and Only Reethi Rah resort near the
capital island Male, police said.
"The
body was removed to a morgue and investigations are underway," police
spokesman Hassan Haneef told AFP by telephone.
Maldives
police stand guard during a
protest in Male, on October 19, 2013
(AFP, Ishara
S.Kodikara)
|
Police said
the dead man, identified as a Sri Lankan national, was not a guest or an
employee of the upmarket resort where Chelsea football club owner Roman
Abramovich was also reportedly staying.
Beckham,
his wife Victoria and their four children remained at the de luxe resort
despite the problems on Sunday, tourism sources said.
The couple
visited the Maldives a year ago and stayed at the same resort, but that holiday
was dampened by incessant rain.
Tourism
Minister Ahmed Adeeb told reporters last week that several international
celebrities were spending their Christmas holidays in the nation of more than
1,000 coral-fringed islands scattered across the equator.
The
Maldives is known for its secluded resorts with pristine beaches and privacy
and is also a popular destination for well-heeled honeymooners. It attracted
nearly a million foreign holidaymakers last year.
Tourism has
suffered setbacks in recent years due to political unrest following the
resignation of former president Mohamed Nasheed in February 2012 in what he
later alleged was a coup.
No comments:
Post a Comment