Ajman boy drowns in washing machine
Child accidentally started wash cycle after climbing inside
Afour-year-old child died in a freak washing machine accident in Ajman when he climbed inside a front-loading model and inadvertently triggered an automatic wash cycle.
Ajman Police told Gulf News that the four-yearold Emirati boy’s body was found by his mother when she returned home. The boy had been left in the care of his grandmother and uncle, police said.
The incident occurred in the Al Rawdha area in Ajman, said Lieutenant Colonel Yahya Khalaf Al Matroushi, director of Al Hamidiya police station.
The boy may have climbed into the washing machine out of curiosity and closed the door which could have started the wash cycle, trapping him inside, the police said.
Worldwide, scores of children’s deaths due to drowning in washing machines have been reported in recent years prompting authorities to warn parents against allowing children into laundry areas.
The four-year-old Emirati boy who drowned inside a washing machine in Ajman was left in the care of his grandmother and uncle by his mother.
When the woman returned, she was horrified to find her son in the machine.
The incident took place in Ajman’s Al Rawdha area, said Lieutenant Colonel Yahya Khalaf Al Matroushi, director of Al Hamidiya police station.
Police said the boy may have climbed into the washing machine out of curiosity and when the door slammed shut, it may have automatically started the wash cycle, trapping him inside.
Authorities worldwide have repeatedly warned parents to never allow children to play in a laundry room. Last January, a five-year-old Japanese boy died inside a front-loading washing machine.
In 2016, a three-year-old was scalded to death in Arkansas, US, after she was trapped in a washing machine that was preset to begin the hot water wash cycle when the door closed.