Maldives police said that the country's former president, Mohamed Nasheed, was injured in an explosion outside his family's home on Thursday, and said he was receiving treatment in hospital for the wounds caused by the explosion.

Footage broadcast by the official PSM television station showed members of the security services securing the site in the capital, Male.

The station reported that a foreign tourist was also injured in the blast.

The explosion occurred outside the former president’s home at 20:40 local time on Thursday evening, while he was traveling in his car, which was parked nearby.

Members of the security services secure the site in the capital Male (French)

Foreign Minister Abdullah Shahid, a member of Nasheed's Maldives Democratic Party, wrote on Twitter: “Such despicable attacks have no place in our society. My heart and my prayers are for the President Nasheed and the others who were injured in the explosion and his family.”