Nearly a week after he fell into an open sewage maintenance hole in Abu Hamour, 5-year-old Fahim Sirajudeen has died of heart failure, a family friend told Doha News.

Doctors declared Fahim dead around 11pm yesterday. According to the friend who identified himself as Abu Saaliha, the boy was still in Hamad Hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit when his heart stopped working.

He had been on a respirator since last Tuesday evening. At that time, Fahim was leaving the Abu Hamour fish market with his parents and younger sister when he fell into a partly open manhole in a poorly lit area.

It took some 10 to 15 minutes before an employee at the fish market obtained a ladder and rescued the boy, but because Fahim had been partially submerged underwater, doctors said all brain function had been lost.

Fahim is at least the third child to have fallen into an uncovered hole in the ground in Qatar in less than a year.

Seeking help

The family intends to take the body home to India for the funeral, but are having difficulty clearing the necessary formalities.

“We need to get support,” Abu Saaliha said, adding that they have been going between the mortuary and the police station without any clear idea on how to proceed.

He also asked for prayers for the parents, especially Fahim’s mother, who has been “uncontrollable” with grief.

Does anyone have advice for the family? Thoughts?

Credit: Photo courtesy of the family