2-yr-old falls to death from 7th floor

A two-year-old Pakistani girl died after falling from the window of her seventh floor apartment in Dubai's Al Khail Gate community on Thursday.

The incident took place around 8.30am in phase two of the gated community in Al Quoz.

Colonel Ali Ghanim, director of the Bur Dubai police station, told Khaleej Times the child had climbed on a table and fell down through an open window next to the table.

Both the parents were present at home but noticed the child had fallen only after they heard people screaming from below, he said.

Neighbours recounted the horror of watching the incident. An Indian housewife said she noticed the child had fallen when she saw a security guard screaming and running.

"He ran to catch her ... but he couldn't. He was a bit far. It was too late. She fell in the parking lot behind the building," she said.

Eyewitnesses saw a mop and a black cloth next to the child on the floor. It was not clear to them if the child was trying to catch any of these things that might have been kept on the ledge as there is no balcony in the building.

Another neighbour, a mother of two, said she can never forget the face of the little girl as she lay motionless on the ground. "She looked like she had just tripped and fell. Initially, there was no bleeding that we could see."

By then, the child's father had rushed down crying and calling out for help. The security guards called the ambulance and police. The onlookers who had gathered could not do anything else, the neighbours said. "There was no pulse ... People asked him to give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."

However, even that didn't revive the little one. "After that, blood gushed out from her ears and nose ... It was heartbreaking to see that. I don't know if I can ever forget those moments," the Indian neighbour said.

According to neighbours who visited the heartbroken parents at their one-bedroom apartment, a sofa and a table were kept right below the window in the hall.

The police have said they will investigate if there was negligence on the parents' part. The Dubai Police usually provide psychological support in such cases.

Photo:Representational purpose