Education Ministry mourns fifth-grade student killed in Saar house fire

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

A 10-year-old girl has died in a house fire in Saar. She was named as Zainab Anwar Makki Hassan, a fifthgrade student at Saar Primary Girls’ School.

The Ministry of Education issued a statement yesterday expressing sorrow at her death.

Education Minister, His Excellency Dr Mohammed bin Mubarak Juma, phoned the girl’s father to pass on his condolences on behalf of the ministry and the education community, offering sympathy to her parents, relatives, teachers and classmates.

Civil Defence crews put out the fire, which broke out on Monday evening, and the National Ambulance was dispatched.

Investigations into the cause are still ongoing.

Mild stroke inhalation

Relatives said the mother and a son were treated in hospital for mild smoke inhalation but their condition was stable. The girl’s three sisters escaped unharmed.

The family, who had only recently moved into the house, consisted of the parents, four daughters and one son.

The father was out at the time of the fire. The blaze started on the first floor. Civil Defence teams managed to rescue the mother and her son. Neighbours tried to intervene after hearing the mother cry for help from a window, but the thick smoke forced them back. The girl became trapped and was unable to reach safety.

Temporary housing

Tareq Al Farsani, the Northern Municipal Council member for the fifth district, said a council team would visit the family to inspect the house and help arrange temporary housing through the Ministry of Social Development, as well as follow up on repair work.

He conveyed his condolences to the child’s father, Anwar Makki, and the wider family, praying that God grant them strength.