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A FRESH alert has gone out to parents from water safety experts after the country witnessed a further two drowning tragedies over the weekend.
Our sister Arabic newspaper Akhbar Al Khaleej reported that the young Bahraini girls were found lifeless in swimming pools, as highlighted in yesterday’s GDN.
Unfortunate
The deceased have been named as Fatima Murtaba Toorani and Fatima Ali Hassan, both four-year-olds. The girls died in separate incidents in private swimming pools, one on Thursday evening and the other on Friday.
Royal Life Saving Bahrain (RLSB) general manager Sam Rahman expressed his utmost grief at the unfortunate incidents, reiterating a call to adults to be on continuous alert when children are playing near water.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the drowning of two small children in separate incidents in swimming pools,” Mr Rahman told the GDN yesterday.
“While an investigation is underway to understand the circumstances of these tragedies, our sincere condolences go to the families and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.
“Drowning impacts us all, and we must continue our efforts as a community to highlight the risks and prevent further tragic incidents from happening.
“We urge families not to risk children’s lives by leaving them unattended at beaches, or in or near swimming pools – please remember, a child can drown in 20 seconds.”
The call becomes all the more important as temperatures are ideal for family gatherings around pools and at beaches, coinciding with relaxed coronavirus restrictions. Many Bahrainis book accommodation and facilities for get-togethers at this time.
Friends of Fatima’s family, who live in Janabiya, say her parents are ‘inconsolable’. They were staying at a rented property with a private swimming pool in Buri when the incident happened.
Removed
Fatima, who lived in Hoora, was with her parents and family members visiting a rented swimming pool premises, when tragedy struck.
“We understand that the child, imitating the adults, removed her floaties and fell into the pool and was not noticed,” the GDN was told.
Both children were buried on Friday.
The GDN reported in 2019 that a nationwide survey by RLSB revealed that more than 47 per cent of children in Bahrain do not know how to swim.
The Water Safety Benchmarking Survey also revealed that 95pc of children do not currently learn swimming at primary schools.
The survey covered a representational sample of the population with 573 people taking part, 88pc of whom were Bahrainis.
On an average, 16 to 20 lives are lost to drowning each year in Bahrain, according to RLSB statistics. RLSB recently launched a campaign in Bahrain alerting parents with an initiative called #itonlytakes20seconds – supported by Bahrain’s own social media platform wwwGDNlife.com and sponsored by Batelco.
More details are available on www.rlsbahrain.org/itonlytakes20seconds.
raji@gdn.com.bh
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