Abu Dhabi: 4-yr-old fell asleep in school bus; locked in, forgotten, found dead

[email protected] (Emirates 24/7)
October 8, 2014

Abdu Dhabi, Oct 8: A four-year-old Indian school girl who was found dead in the bus in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday was left asleep for several hours after the van was locked by the driver and the bus supervisor, a senior police officer was quoted on Wednesday as saying.

naziha

Naziha Lal Ahmed, who was in the private Al Worood school, was found dead at the end of the school day after she apparently suffocated inside the locked bus on a hot day.

œThe bus driver and supervisor are principally responsible for the child's death. The rules we have set are very clear and they are intended to upgrade safety on school buses,  Abu Dhabi traffic police chief Brigadier Hussein Al Harthi said, quoted by the semi-official Arabic language daily 'Al Ittihad'.

The paper said its reporter went to the child's home and met her grandfather, who said the family was too distressed to speak to anyone.

œI can tell you that we lost our granddaughter because of negligence and a grave mistake by persons who are supposed to look after school children, not leaving them to die inside buses,  Asghar Ali told the paper.

He said Naziha got on the school bus around 6.30am and that the family received a phone call from the school management around 12.30pm.

œThey refused to tell us what the problem was. When we went there, they conveyed to us the sad news. I would like now to ask the bus driver and the supervisor why they have done this. How can they lock the bus without checking whether there are any school children left inside,  he asked.

The paper quoted Al Worood Principal Roderick Williams as saying he offers condolences to the child's family.

œ I am very sad for this accident, which is the first in our school's history of more than 30 years. Police are still investigating and the school is waiting for the outcome. We are also conducting our own investigation. 

Memorial service

School business manager Dina El Tayeb Rabei has reportedly contacted the family of the child to consult as to when a memorial service can be held in the school.

Embassy mourns

Anand Bardhan, Counsellor (Community Affairs) at Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi, expressed shock over Naziha's death.

œI did try and speak to the father of the child, but he was not in the right frame of mind to talk. However, I did talk to a close family friend, who told me that the family is in a state of shock.

œIt's a tragic incident and we will extend all assistance to the family,  he said.

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News Network
December 2,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 2: Mangaluru International Airport responded to a medical emergency late on Monday night. Air India Express flight IX 522, travelling from Riyadh to Thiruvananthapuram, was diverted to Mangaluru Airport after a passenger in his late 30s experienced a medical emergency on board.

The Airport’s Operations Control Centre received an alert regarding the passenger’s health condition. The airport activated its emergency response protocol, mobilising the airport medical team and coordinating with stakeholders including CISF, immigration, and customs. 

Upon landing, airport medical personnel attended to the passenger, assessed his condition, and arranged to shift him to a local tertiary-care hospital for further treatment. The passenger’s relatives accompanied the passenger, who incidentally received necessary medical care on board, which helped stabilise the situation.

Following the handling of the emergency, the flight departed for Thiruvananthapuram at 2:05 am on Tuesday.

"We appreciate the cooperation of all parties involved, and this incident reaffirms our ongoing commitment to prioritising passenger safety and readiness to respond to unforeseen emergencies with professionalism and care," the Airport spokesperson said. 

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News Network
December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A 34-year-old fruit and vegetable trader in Mangaluru has reportedly lost ₹33.1 lakh after falling victim to an online investment scam run through a fake mobile app.

Police said the scam began in September, when the victim received a link on Facebook. Clicking it connected him to a WhatsApp number, where an unidentified person introduced a high-return investment scheme and instructed him to download an app.

To build trust, the fraudster asked him to invest ₹30,000 on September 24. The trader soon received ₹34,000 as “profit,” convincing him the scheme was genuine. Over the next two months, he transferred money in multiple instalments via Google Pay and IMPS to different scanner codes and bank accounts shared by the scammers. Between September 24 and December 3, he ended up sending a total of ₹33.1 lakh.

When he later requested a refund of his investment and promised returns, the scammers demanded additional payments, claiming he needed to pay a “service tax” first. Even after he paid a small amount, no money was returned, and the scammers continued pressuring him for more.

A case has been registered at the CEN Crime Police Station.

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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