2-year-old twins drown in neighbour’s swimming pool

Emirati twin boys, aged two years five months, drowned in the swimming pool of their neighbour at Khuzam area in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah late on Friday.

Brigadier Mohammed Saeed Al Humaidi, director-general of the central operations room, RAK Police, said they were alerted about two missing kids at 10.10pm.

“The RAK Police immediately launched an intensive search operation but could not find them.”

However, 83 minutes later, the operations room received a report of drowning of the two missing twins, according to Major Tariq Al Sharhan, chief of the Ambulance and Rescue Section, RAK Police.

“The rescue team fished out the two boys from the swimming pool and tried all ways to resuscitate them, but unfortunately, they were declared dead.”

Hassan Al Awadhi, uncle of the twins, said the duo were safely riding their bikes late when they found the door of their neighbour’s villa open.

“My 2.5-year-old nephews rode in and fell into the swimming pool of neighbour’s villa past 10 pm as it was dark.”

What made the situation worse was that the two bikes fell onto the two little boys, he added.

“They tried to get out of the shallow pool, but the bikes trapped them down into the water until they breathed their last.”

Mansoor Al Awadhi, the distraught father of the twins, identified as Abdullah and Zayed, said he “cannot force their neighbour to keep the door of his villa close but he should have sealed his swimming pool or kept it safe.”

The father does not plan to file a lawsuit against the neighbour.

“All kids are observed and attended to either by family members or domestic helpers, but my boys suddenly went missing, and the housemaid could not locate them. When their mother came back home after buying some stuff, she also could not find them. All family members and neighbours started searching for the missing boys at 10pm, when they were finally found drowned in neighbour’s swimming pool at about 11.30pm.”

Nobody had expected the children to enter the neighbour’s villa, which was three houses away.

“We only knew about the sorrowful drowning of my kids when the Ras Al Khaimah Police told us they found them dead in the neighbour’s pool.”

Brig Humaidi urged all families to always keep an eye on their children, particularly the young ones.

“They should never ever be kept alone or unattended. All corridours, doors, or paths, leading to the swimming pool should be strictly closed down. So, none can have access to the pool which should also be tightly sealed.”

The funeral prayers were performed for the twins at Sheikh Zayed mosque in Ras Al Khaimah following the Friday prayer, while the duo was later buried at the Hudaiba Cemetery.