Two deaths in quick succession leaves Ungoofaaru island in shock
As his last act in this life, the young man had tried to save two children. Ungoofaaru is proud of Atheek.
By
Aminath Shifleen
One of the biggest blows for the people of Raa atoll Ungoofaaru in recent times was the drowning of a local youth, Ali Mimrah, while he was fishing. Two years ago, after having gone missing in late 2022, Mimrah was found dead in the sea. While the island is still mourning the loss of the 25-year-old talented footballer, Ungoofaaru had to face the same pain and loss once again.
On 23rd last month, 18-year-old Hussain Atheek was severely electrocuted while trying to rescue two children from an electrified puddle on a road in Ungoofaaru. He died on Saturday after 15 days in hospital, not having regained consciousness. Earlier, a 23-year-old soldier from Ungoofaaru died during an army swimming exercise on June 2.
Two young, promising, brave men from Ungoofaaru have left this earthly realm within the span of a week.
"These are very, very sad incidents. Ungoofaaru will be the one island having such deadly incidents so close to each other in recent times," council president Abdullah Rasheed said.
"The youth that have left us today are good, valuable young men”.
Mimrah, who died while fishing, was the son of the assassinated religious scholar Dr Afrasheem Ali's elder brother. The whole island was proud of the great football player who won tournaments for the island. His funeral was attended by almost everyone in Ungoofaaru.
The next largest such funeral in the history of Ungoofaaru was held for Mohammed Zaidhan, who died in a shark attack during a an army training exercise at sea. He was first taken to Gamu Regional Hospital after the shark attacked him. He died while undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Zaidhan's funeral was held in Ungoofaaru with full military honours. A seven-gun salute was also given in his name. After the funeral, the national flag was on clad his coffin, was handed over to the youth's family and a lot of the people who had gathered there could be seen crying.
"I will never forget the funeral of Mimrah and Zaidhan. Two very talented, much loved, young men passed away so unexpectedly," a resident of Ungoofaaru said.
While undergoing treatment at the hospital, Atheek too died on Saturday. As his last act in this life, this young man had tried to save two children. Ungoofaaru is proud of Atheek. His funeral is scheduled to be held in Male on Saturday. Many people from Ungoofaaru have decided to go to Male to pay their respects to this local hero.
"I still can't believe the two boys are dead. We're still in shock”, the Ungoofaaru resident said.
