President unhurt in blast on boat

The president of the Maldives was unhurt but his wife and two aides were injured in an explosion on a boat as it approached Male, the capital of the Indian Ocean archipelago, a senior aide said.

The cause of Monday's blast, witnessed by journalists who were waiting to meet President Abdulla Yameen on his return from the hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, was not immediately clear.

Footage aired on local TV channels showed chaotic scenes as Yameen's staff tried to evacuate the injured from his stricken launch, bobbing on the waves close to a jetty, to a police boat.