Piece of minaret struck Abdulrahman

Abdulrahman was standing under the minaret of his local mosque when a piece apparently broke off and struck him.

“He was waiting for his friends to finish ablution so they could go and pray. That is when a piece of the minaret fell on his head, fracturing his skull and causing severe internal bleeding,” said his father, Yasir.

“We live next to the mosque. As soon as it happened his friends ran to our house and told us. I will never forget the scene,” Yasir added, “We rushed him to the hospital here in Saham, where we were transferred by ambulance to Sohar Hospital.” Since arriving at Sohar hospital, Abdulrahman was treated in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Officials from the Department of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in Northern Batinah have since issued a statement announcing that the mosque has been closed.

The statement said that the department would like to inform the public of the immediate and final closure of the mosque in the Wilayat of Saham as of 26th Ramadan/June 11, 2018 in view of the decline of the mentioned mosque and its effect on the coastal road.

Abdulrahman leaves behind seven siblings who live with his parents in a small village in Saham.

“This is the only mosque we have in the village and at times, as during Eid prayers, nearly 600 people would gather to pray in it,” Yasir noted.

“It is good that the mosque is now closed, but it has to be demolished so that no one else is harmed. A temporary mosque can be built somewhere else.”