4-year-old falls to death while playing on tablet

ajman — A four-year-old Arab boy fell to death from his apartment’s balcony in Ajman as he was playing on his mobile tablet. The tragedy happened from the fourth floor of a building in Al Nuaimiya area.

The building’s watchman notified the police after he witnessed the little boy fall, clutching his tablet.

Lt.-Col. Ghaith Khalifa Al Kaabi, head of the Nuaimiya comprehensive police department, told Khaleej Times that they were notified about the incident at 12 noon on Monday. A team of police officers and paramedics found the little boy dead at the site.

“The boy was playing with his tablet in the balcony, when he climbed a railing, lost his balance and fell to his death. The body was shifted to the Khalifa Hospital,” said Lt.-Col. Al Kaabi.

The initial probe revealed that the mother was at home when he

fell, but couldn’t save him. She screamed for help, catching the attention of the watchman.

The distraught mother told the police that she was attending to her younger daughter and trying to put her to sleep, when the boy sneaked into the balcony.

Lt.-Col. Al Kaabi ruled out negligence as the cause of the boy’s death. The officer said an inspection of the flat revealed that the balcony railings met the stipulated safety requirements.

According to the officer, this was the first such incident in three months. “Instances of children falling off balconies have reduced due to the collaborative efforts of the police, civil defence and municipality. Owners have been obliged to meet the safety standards when it comes to fixing railings in balconies. They were also required to instal CCTV cameras in their buildings. Awareness programmes were carried out to educate parents about child safety.”