Teen brothers drown in unfenced building pit

FUJAIRAH // The director general of Fujairah Civil Defence yesterday called for an immediate investigation after two teenage brothers drowned in a pit full of rainwater on Saturday night.

Emirati brothers SSG, 14, and HSG, 13, who were laid to rest in Dibba Graveyard yesterday, were found by a resident in the mountainous Basira al Jabaliya area.

The pit had been dug by companies carrying rocks and sand from the area but warning signs had not been erected, said Col Salman Abdullah al Shujjaa.

___________

Also

KS Chitra daughter's drowning prompts pool warnings

___________

"We want an immediate investigation into this accident to bring justice to those who carelessly neglected public safety," he said. "The residents of this area have been saddened by this incident and those who dug this trench should be held responsible."

The hole was about 300 metres wide and about 4.5 metres deep, said Mohammed Khamis, a resident of Basira al Jabaliya.

"It was possible for anyone to fall into the pit, especially at night, as there were no signs to warn it existed - and neither was it fenced," he said.

"We ask companies collecting rocks from here to be more responsible and not to risk our people's lives."

The tragedy happened while the brothers' parents were out of the country.

ykakande@thenational.ae