Manama: The death of a three-year-old child remains shrouded in mystery as investigations into the tragedy are continuing.
Firas Mohammad Ahmad, a three-year-old Egyptian, was found dead hours after he was reported missing last Sunday.
News of his death coincided with a tragic end for another child, also called Firas, who was killed in a car accident in the village of Bani Jamra, west to the capital Manama.
“It was fate and his destiny was to end in a tragic car accident,” a relative of Firas Abdul Imam, the accident victim, said.
“Firas was a much loved and appreciated child and was popular among relatives, neighbours and friends. His sudden death came as a shock to all of us, particularly his mother who has been finding it difficult to accept the terrible reality. She keeps asking everyone when Firas is coming home.”
The twin deaths of the children left Bahrainis reeling under deep shock and the social media were flooded with messages of sympathy and support.
On social media and among people mourning the two deaths, Bahrainis have expressed a strong sense of unity in the face of tragedy.
The tender age of the two children and the coincidence of their names gave an added dimension to the tragedy.
“Two flowers have faded on the same day, one asphyxiated in the trunk of a car and the other run over by a car,” one media user said. “They were miles apart, but they shared the name, Firas, and the value of innocence. It is a tragedy that brought the same beat to all hearts.”
However, while the death of Firas Abdul Imam in a car accident raised no questions, the death of the other Firas continues to puzzle his family, friends and the general public.
The public prosecution said that the body of Firas carried no recent traces of violence or aggression and that the cause of the death was suffocation from the lack of oxygen inside the car trunk.
Fingerprints collected from the car where the body was found matched those of the young child, the prosecution said.
According to Public Advocate Ameena Al Eissa, the prosecution was notified by the police in Muharraq, Bahrain’s second largest island, that a man parked his car in front of his building and did not use it until the next morning when he drove to work.
However, as he was driving, he became aware of a foul smell and when he arrived to his workplace, he opened the trunk and found the body of the child.
An investigation was launched, and the father said his son was used to going to a neighbour’s flat to play with their children
On the day of his disappearance, Firas reportedly went alone to the neighbour’s apartment, the father said, adding that there were no disputes or issues with anyone, including the neighbour in whose car the body was found and who lived in a different building.
A witness reported that he saw Firas on the day of his disappearance and that he was standing near the neighbour’s car. He said that he told Firas he should go home, but the child refused.
The car owner who reported the discovery of the body insisted he had no clue how Firas ended up inside the car trunk.
