Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA) officials have advised farm owners to take preventative measures regarding wells and pools after a two-year-old Omani boy fell down a well.
Also read: Warning for families in Oman after toddler found dead in well
“It is necessary to secure the wells and cover it along with fencing swimming areas and ensuring that children are supervised at all times and not left alone, to prevent such accidents from happening in the future,” said Junda Al Balushi, a PACDA officer.
Turki’s parents were too upset to comment.
“The family is very distraught because of what has happened, and this is a very sad story,” added shura member and neighbour Al Nadabi.
“Parents should always be careful when children are playing outside because it is dangerous in these areas. All they had come for was a nice break with their grandmother and for this to happen is very sad indeed.
“I want to thank the PACDA and ROP authorities for all the dedication they put into this search and want to once again warn people about the dangers of playing in such areas unsupervised.”
Last August, an eight year old boy drowned in a pool while swimming with his friends unsupervised. PACDA statistics show that 113 recorded cases of drowning occurred in 2015, down from 150 in 2014 and 292 in 2013.
Seas, valleys (wadis), water canals, dams, pools, wells, open water reservoirs, ponds, wadis during rainy season are among some of the places where rescue operations had to be carried out.
According to PACDA’s annual statistics, 55 rescue operations were carried out in wadis, 26 in seas, two at pools, two in swamps and 11 at wells, two at dams and seven where waste water had accumulated.
