Cases of children trapped in cars decreases in Dubai

Police official says number of children who needed rescuing from cars, homes or lifts has fallen by 8 per cent

Dubai police has seen a drop in child rescue cases, but officials say parents must remain vigilant. Pawan Singh / The National

The number of cases of children becoming trapped in cars, houses or lifts since January dropped by eight per cent compared to the same eight-month period last year, a Dubai Police official said.

Deputy director of the Search and Rescue Department, Lt Col Abdullah Bishawa said that, during the first eight months of this year, their teams rescued 136 children in such situations.

He said these included 69 children trapped in cars, 64 in their homes and three who had to be rescued from lifts.

During the same period last year, 148 children were rescued by police. Some 76 were saved from locked cars, 69 in homes and three from lifts.

Despite regular advice from police and health authorities, children continue to be left unattended in vehicles with at least three reported deaths of children across the Emirates last year.
Lt Col Bishawa renewed calls for parents to supervise their children lest there be fatal consequences caused by negligence.
"Cases that involve children dying or falling critically ill due to negligence are referred to police and prosecutors for further legal action," he said.

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