10-year-old boy injured in ceiling collapse

A 10-year-old Palestinian boy sustained serious injuries on Saturday morning after concrete from the ceiling of a chicken coop outside their house located in the Dhafan area of Ras Al Khaimah collapsed on him. The boy was feeding chicken when the accident occured.

The boy, Abdul Rahman Obaid, was admitted to Saqr Hospital in an unconscious state.

Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Director of Saqr Hospital, said the boy sustained wounds on his head and fracture on his right leg. The wound on the boy’s head required nine stitches after which his fractured leg was operated upon, said Al Nuaimi.

The boy’s father said his son was in the chicken coop located outside their main house when parts of the ceiling collapsed and fell on him.

Family members who were in the main house heard Obaid screaming and shouting for help and they hurried to rescue him. Family members rushed the boy to the hospital.

According to the boy’s father, the rented house which is nearly 30 years old is in a dilapidated condition and needs thorough repair and maintenance.

He said he had on several occasions talked to the owner of the house to do maintenance work, but he has been reluctant to do so.

“I have sometimes hired men to do maintenance work on the cracked walls and ceiling, but the house is too old,” said the father.

He stressed that the landlord is not willing to pay for the maintenance work despite the fact that the house rent was hiked a couple of months ago.

Obaid’s father said this was the second incidence of ceiling collapse. Last year, parts of the kitchen ceiling had collapsed and had fallen on his wife as she was cooking.