By Xinhua
Colombo : Twelve foreign tourists, including eight Chinese nationals were injured in an explosion in the Maldivian capital of Male Saturday afternoon, the Maldivian government said.
Mohamed H. Shareef, the chief government spokesman, told Xinhua from Male by phone that among the injured eight are Chinese nationals, two are Japanese, two are British nationals.
Shareef said the eight Chinese tourists and the two Japanese tourists have been discharged after being treated at hospital, but the two British nationals are still in hospital as they received extensive burnings in the explosion.
He said the explosion happened at about 2:30 p.m. local time (0930 GMT) in the Sultan Park in the central area of Male and the explosion was caused by a homemade device.
The spokesman said the government has no clues about who is responsible for the explosion.
Shareef said this was the first such explosion in the Maldives for many years and the government will do its best to investigate the incident.
More than 60,000 tourists visit the archipelago each year, generating about one-third of the country’s total income.