Parents had left the children with a maid as they attended to guests
Muscat: A six -year-old Omani boy died on Sunday evening after mistakenly locking himself in a car with his cousin as his parents entertained guests.
The boy, who was in the car for two hours, was identified as Yarub Al Zaidi. His five-year-old cousin is hospitalised in Ibri hospital and still in critical condition.
The incident took place in front of the boy’s family home. The two children stepped into Yarub’s father’s unlocked car and locked themselves inside. Yarub was buried on Monday night.
“The child suffocated due to the high temperature inside the car,” the official said. Police have ruled out foul play in the incident.
His family told Gulf News that they left the boys with the family’s housemaid while they were busy with guests.
Ahmad Al Zaidi, the boy’s uncle, said that he was outside when the incident occurred.
“We should have kept an eye on them and not left them with the housemaid. That was a grave mistake”, says Al Zaidi.
Dhank and Ibri provinces recorded 45 degree Celsius on Monday, according to the Directorate General of Meteorology.
There have been past instances of children being left behind in cars. Two school children died in 2014 after they were locked up in a school bus.
Dr Mohammad Al Maskari, physician at a governmental hospital, told Gulf News that death due to suffocation or lack of oxygen inside a car can happen in any climate, even during winter. But in this part of the world, cases like this occur mostly during the summer months.
To avoid such tragedies, parents or guardians must make sure that all the passengers, mostly toddlers are out of the vehicle before locking it.
