Maid cleared of negligence in UAE sponsor's kids' death case

Fujairah - "The father and mother of the victims were at work when the fire erupted in their house."

The Fujairah Criminal Court has cleared a domestic helper of negligence and dereliction of duty after her Emirati sponsor's two kids were suffocated to death in a fire that erupted in their room at Madab area in June this year.
Denying the charges, the maid told the court that she was downstairs when the three-year-old brother and her four-year-old sister were sleeping upstairs in their room.
"It is not my duty to observe or take care of them while sleeping," she pointed out.
She added that she and the children's grandmother tried hard to rescue them but could not open the locked door.
"The room was filled with heavy smoke."
As per court records, the case unfolded on June 25, 2019 when a massive fire broke out in the bedroom of the siblings.
Nabeel Al-Saeedi, one of the kids' uncle, said his nephew, Fahad, and his niece, Hor, were in their room in the top floor of the two-storeyed house, when the fire erupted.
"The children were screaming for help," he said.
"None of us could open the door and the two kids were stuck inside amid the heavy smoke."
The firefighters arrived at the scene, broke open the window of the second floor, and pulled out the kids from under their bed where they were hiding from the fire and smoke, he said.
Brigadier Ali Obaid Al Tunaiji, director of the Civil Defence Department, Fujairah, said the two kids were trapped in the fire that engulfed their house.
"The siblings were alone with their grandmother, who was helpless and sought help from her neighbours."
The paramedics tried hard to resuscitate the two kids, who could not make it and died on the spot, he added.
"The father and mother of the victims were at work when the fire erupted in their house."
In June 2013, twin brothers - aged 3 - were choked to death after the basement of their house caught fire at Qadfa area in Fujairah.
Seven Emirati children aged between five and 13 years died in the wee hours of January 22, 2018, after a fire broke out at their villa.
According to the Fujairah civil defence, a short circuit caused the fire in the air conditioner of the children's room, after which its gas leaked. Four boys and three girls died in the incident.
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com

• Fujairah