Two children die after falling from buildings in the UAE

Two children have died after falling from high-rise buildings in the UAE in separate incidents on Wednesday.

An eight-year-old child died after falling out of a window at his family’s home in Fujairah and another child fell from the 32nd floor of a residential tower in Sharjah, local media reported.

Police in Fujairah received a call at 6pm on Wednesday informing them a child had fallen from a building on Hamad bin Abdullah Street, which is lined with tall office blocks.

The boy, who was of Arab nationality, was taken to hospital but could not be saved. The incident is under investigation.

In Sharjah, a boy of Asian descent fell from the balcony of a building located on King Faisal Street. He died at the scene.

Police refused to comment as investigations are ongoing.

In 2019 there was another spate of similar incidents, prompting the deputy head of the Emirates Child Protection Association to call for greater action.

They included the death of a two-year-old toddler, who fell from an eighth-floor flat in Sharjah, as well as a four-year-old girl who fell to her death from a ninth-floor balcony in Dubai.

The toddler's mother was charged with negligence after police found she had left her child alone in the apartment.

"We can't blame the chair or the window for their deaths," Moza Al Shoomi told The National at the time.

“The ones who should be held responsible are the parents or caregivers who left the children unattended, building owners who didn’t implement safety measures, and the municipalities if it is found that the safety measures are not being implemented."

The incidents followed two other deadly falls in the same year, including a 16 year old who fell from the window of a sixth-floor apartment in Umm Al Quwain and a 15 year old who fell from the 10th floor of a building in Sharjah. They were believed to have taken their own lives.