A 7-year-old boy died in a locked car in Sharjah after he was forgotten inside by the driver, the police have said. The driver was not licensed to transport children to and from school.
The Bangladeshi boy was a student of Ibn Sina School in Sharjah, the Consulate General of Bangladesh told Khaleej Times. According to the police, the female driver was hired by some parents to drop and pick their children from school. On Monday morning, she picked the students and parked the car near the school on Monday, after which all occupants – except the boy – exited the vehicle. Failing to notice that the boy was inside, the woman left with her husband in another car. After a few hours, when she came back to pick the students, she found the little boy dead inside the vehicle, the police added.
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It was not immediately clear how long the boy remained inside. Monday was a hot day, with highs of nearly 44°C recorded. Temperatures can reach as high as 60°C inside locked cars parked under direct sun. Experts had previously highlighted how leaving a child inside a vehicle in such extreme heat conditions can prove fatal.
Khaleej Times has learnt that the boy’s parents have ‘forgiven’ the driver. It’s not immediately clear if the police will take legal action against her in the absence of a formal complaint.
‘Always smiling’
Muhammad Imran Sharif, a resident of Bu Tina, said the boy was very friendly. “He always had a smile whenever we saw him. I can’t believe he’s gone; I am just heartbroken.”
Ariful Islam, the watchman of a building where the boy used to go for private tuitions, is currently in Bangladesh. But he heard about the tragic news this morning from a resident of the area.
“After Asr (evening prayer), the boy used to come to the building for tuitions. He always had a smile about him. He would firmly hold on to his mother’s hand when coming,” Islam said. “I was going somewhere important today when I heard about this. I was so shocked that I abandoned all my plans and came back.”
Illegal car lift services
Due to the costs associated with authorised school buses, some parents opt for cheaper, illegal car lift services. A quick search on parents’ forums on social media showed several results for unauthorised lift services.
Sharjah Police have warned parents against using illegal car lift services, stressing that licensed school buses are equipped with all security and safety measures. Drivers and attendants are monitored by the relevant authorities as well, the police added.
Authorities in the UAE had stepped up security protocols in school buses after instances of children being forgotten on board. In 2019, a six-year-old Indian boy died after he remained inside a bus for several hours outside an educational institution. In a similar incident in Abu Dhabi, a KG1 pupil died on board a locked bus in 2014.