Colombo, January 8: The Maldivian President Moumoon Gayoom narrowly escaped a knife attack by an unidentified man on Tuesday, while he was touring Hoarafushi, one of the northern most atolls in the island country.

"The president was saved by the extraordinary presence of mind and bravery of a 15 year old boy scout who pounced on the attacker, wrestled with him and grabbed his knife. It was a very narrow escape," Mohamad Sharif, the Presidential spokesman, told IANS over the phone.

"The president had stepped back on seeing the assailant lunge at him. The knife just grazed his shirt. The president was not injured. In fact he announced that he was perfectly alright," Sharif said. "The president's son, Faris, who was standing close by, also grappled with the attacker," the spokesman said.

The crowd gabbed the 20 year old assailant, and were about to lynch him when the police intervened and whisked him away. "We are tying to ascertain if the man caught red handed was acting on his own or he represented some other forces," Sharif said.

The boy scout, who has been identified as Mohammad Jaisham, was badly injured. He was flown to Male for treatment.

Gayoom has been the longest serving president of the Maldives, a Muslim nation of hundreds of small islands in the Indian Ocean, which depends entirely on tourism. For the last few years, Gayoom has been facing opposition to his rule, which his detractors say is "dictatorial". The president, however, had promised a more democratic constitution and had appointed a committee to draft a constitution.