Parents blamed for falls from towers
PARENTAL NEGLIGENCE AND POOR AWARENESS ABOUT SAFETY CITED AS MAIN REASONS FOR KIDS FALLING FROM HIGH-RISES IN SHARJAH
Negligence by parents is one of the main causes of children falling to death from high-rise buildings, officials said yesterday.
A review meeting of top officials held yesterday, two weeks after a five-year-old American girl fell from the 19th floor of a Sharjah building, concluded that parents were responsible for such deaths. The American girl was left alone when the incident happened.
Between 2012 and 2015, Sharjah Police said 18 children fell to their deaths from residential towers. Six died in 2016, and three in 2017.
Thabit Al Turaifi, Director-General of Sharjah City Municipality, presided over the meeting, in which officials called for a public-private partnership to deal with the problem and prevent more such tragedies.
“We are keen to find radical solutions to the problem of accidents involving children in high-rise buildings. This can be done in coordination with government agencies, to safeguard the community, which is one of our priorities,” Al Turaifi said.
The other causes, the meeting felt, were the practice of keeping furniture and other objects on balconies and near windows, and leaving windows open.
Parental negligence, furniture on balconies and windows left open have been blamed for high-rise deaths involving children, officials said yesterday.
Top officials in Sharjah, including heads of government departments, discussed finding “radical solutions” to end the tragic accidents that have claimed several children’s lives.
A five-year-old American girl died instantly after falling from the 19th floor of a Sharjah building on August 26. She was left alone in the apartment and had climbed onto furniture placed in the balcony.
Between 2012 and 2015, Sharjah Police said 18 children fell to their deaths from residential towers. Six died in 2016, and three in 2017 according to media reports.
Thabit Al Turaifi, DirectorGeneral of Sharjah City Municipality, presided over the meeting, in which officials called for a public-private partnership to deal with the problem and prevent more such tragedies.
“We are keen to find radical solutions to the problem of accidents involving children in high-rise buildings. This can be done in coordination with government agencies, to safeguard the community, which is one of our priorities,” Al Turaifi said.
In a presentation, negligence by parents and placing furniture and other objects on balconies and near windows, and leaving windows open were highlighted as the main reasons for children falling.
To curb these accidents, the Sharjah government introduced preventive measures in 2017 and amended the technical requirements for residential windows and balconies. The changes were made mandatory for landlords and contractors.
The Sharjah Municipality also conducted a massive awareness campaign titled ‘Safety of Our Children is Our Responsibility’ that ran for nine months from June 1, 2017 to March 1, 2018 in Arabic, English and Urdu. It aimed for a target of zero accidents and produced significant results, bringing fatalities down to just one this year, so far.
Col Al Naqbi cautioned families against leaving children on balconies and near windows, especially in high-rises.