ABU DHABI // Police officials are urging families to be more vigilant and take greater precautions toward protecting their children after a five-year-old boy fell from a first-floor apartment on Hamdan Street.
Police were dispatched to the scene after the Bangladeshi child’s father reported the accident to the Operations Room at 12:30am Saturday morning, saying his child fell through the window, according to Abu Dhabi Police.
“Investigations with the child’s father indicated that as he returned home from work, he saw his child sticking his head from the first floor window,” said Col Saeed Al Dhaheri, director of Al Madina Police Station, affiliated to the Capital Police Directorate. “Seconds later, he was shocked to see his child falling from the bedroom window and hitting the ground. The father did not wait for the ambulance to arrive and immediately rushed his child to the hospital where he is listed in stable condition. Investigations also showed that the child’s mother was in the kitchen at the time of the accident, and was alerted by the janitor.”
Police investigating noted the window through which the child fell through had a traditional opening and closing mechanism, and was able to fully open on one side.
Col Al Dhaheri warned families against neglecting their children and leaving them unattended, stressing the need to close all windows tightly. He also called on parents and guardians to keep any dangerous objects away from children to ensure their safety. He added that investigations are still underway to uncover the circumstances of the accident.
Maj Gen Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, secretary general of the office of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Higher Committee for Child Protection at the Ministry of Interior, expressed his deep regret for the recurrence of such accidents. He stressed the role of parents in ensuring that safety requirements are met at their homes and children’s play areas to prevent such tragic accidents. He wished the child a quick recovery.
He also underscored the Supreme Committee’s keenness to follow up on these incidents, which demonstrate parents’ negligence and carelessness in caring for their children, as well as their poor judgment of the potential dangers involved. He called on parents to be cautious and vigilant so as to avoid the risks posed by the seasonal accidents, which occur mostly during summer months.
newsdesk@thenational.ae