Sharjah: An eight-year-old boy has died after spending 10 days in a coma brought on by a near drowning incident in a pool at a privately-owned special needs centre that he was attending, confirm authorities.
According to the boy’s parents, their son was engaged in a group session to focus on concentration in the pool when the accident happened and he was found in the pool and transported to hospital where he slipped into a coma,
The family questioned whether the centre had a surveillance camera and whether the pool was under supervision at the time of the accident on April 30.
An official with the centre, who declined to be identified, told Gulf News that the pool was being supervised by two teachers at the time of the incident.
The official said that the centre is fully cooperating with police who are investigating the incident.
Ali Ahmad Ali died on May 9.
He was kept on life support in Al Qasimi Hospital in Sharjah.
Speaking to Gulf News, the boy’s father Ahmad Ali described his son as a “lovely eight-year-old who was full of joy”.
Ali said he has decided to seek damages against the centre and has filed a law suit accusing the centre of negligence.
He said that such a lawsuit may save the life of other helpless children via awareness of his son’s death.
The family requested a medical report to be issued from Al Qasimi Hospital where the child died. Gulf News obtained a copy of the medical report issued by Al Qasimi Hospital.
The report stated that the child suffered brain damage due to the drowning incident.
Ali said he was outside the country when the tragedy happened and he returned to UAE as quickly as he could. When he arrived at the hospital, he saw his son on life support and in a coma.
“It was an absolutely tragic situation to hear such tragic news,” he said.
He alleges that his son remained in the water for some time but those allegations have not been tested in court.
“My son [was] left for a period not less than half an hour which caused damage to his brain, while the centre claimed that the child was left only for a while and they pulled him out of the swimming pool,” said the father.
Ali said he wanted to “praise the hospital” and the staff’s kindness during his son’s stay.
