Following the fire incident at Velaanaage building- which accommodates most of the government offices- a number of employees were left outside the building on Thursday morning.

When the employees showed up for work on Thursday, the building was still locked up, forcing them to stay outside till it was reopened.

While the building is normally opened at 7 am, there was a 50-minute delay on Thursday.

According to Velaanaage security officials, the delay in opening up the building was because they had to wait for approval from the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).

However, MNDF denied having given any orders to lock up Velaanaage.

A small fire broke out on the eighth floor of Velaanaage building on Wednesday night.

According to MNDF, the fire started at the waiting area on the eighth floor, where the Education Ministry is located. While the cause of the fire is yet to be revealed, the fire is said to have broken out inside a paper box containing discarded papers.

MNDF further revealed Velaanaage's security guard, who had assisted in extinguishing the fire, had to be taken to ADK Hospital for treatment due to smoke inhalation.