2 KIDS KILLED IN FREAK ACCIDENTS AT HOME

Fridge falls on six-year-old Toddler drowns in family pool

sharjah — A six-year-old Emirati girl died on the spot when a fridge fell on her in their family home in Kalba.

The little girl was rushed to Al Fujairah Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Police investigation revealed that the girl went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Using the racks, she tried climbing her way up to reach the top shelves — but the fridge fell on her, causing fatal injuries, a police officer said.

A family member who heard the loud thud rushed to the kitchen and found the refrigerator on the floor, on top of the girl.

When they rushed her to the hospital, the girl was already motionless. Al Fujairah Hospital then notified the police, who started an investigation.

Col Sami Al Naqbi, director-general of Sharjah Civil Defence Department, said that while safety rules and policies are in place, these alone will not prevent children from getting hurt in their homes.

“Incidents like these continue to happen because of parents’ negligence, lack of education, and failure to implement safety measures at home,” Col Al Naqbi said.

Authorities have conducted more awareness drives in recent years to promote child safety, hoping to bring down the number of such incidents. Hanadi Saleh Al Yafei, director of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs and head of the organising committee of the children safety campaign, said the municipality had also “adopted a comprehensive strategy to educate parents and keep children safe at home, on the roads, and online”.

In the last two years, the number of children who fell from highrise buildings has been reduced — but, unfortunately, accidents still happen. Within the same period, four children were either killed or seriously injured in different incidents across the emirate. ras al khaimah — A toddler drowned at his family home swimming pool on Saturday evening.

The one-year-old Omani boy was rushed to Saqr hospital at 6.30pm, but doctors weren’t able to revive him, sources said.

They added that he was already dead when he was brought to the emergency room.

“The RAK Police, alerted of the incident, started an investigation into the tragic death of the little boy,” sources said.

The boy’s death wasn’t the first case of its kind in the emirate.

Late in December last year, a three-year-old Arab boy also drowned in the swimming pool of a hotel villa. The boy, identified as Saif Mohammed Saeed, was with his family and they came all the way from Abu Dhabi to enjoy the views of RAK. The father said the tragedy happened when his children were playing alone in the apartment villa. “They headed to the pool while I was relaxing in another part of the villa close by.”

In July 2018, an Emirati toddler was rushed to a hospital after drowning in their swimming pool at home in Khat area. Days later, however, the little girl died.

Aside from drowning incidents, a host of other tragic accidents had resulted in children having to fight for their lives. Just a few days ago, a 19-month Egyptian baby girl fell from the 10th floor of her parents’ apartment in the city.

She was recently airlifted to Tawam hospital in Al Ain due to her critical condition.

The baby, who sustained serious injuries and bled excessively, had fallen on the windscreen of a white Toyota saloon car parked in front of their building.