Boy, 9, in coma after fall from balcony of UAE apartment

The nine-year-old fractured his skull after falling from the balcony of his home in Ajman.

AJMAN // A nine-year-old boy suffered a fractured skull and is in coma in hospital after falling from the balcony of his family’s third-floor apartment.

The boy’s parents told police he lost his balance and fell while trying to climb to a neighbour’s balcony on Sunday afternoon, said Brig Gen Ali Alwan, the director general of Ajman Police.

The Somali youngster was being looked after by neighbours while his parents were at work.

Dr Abdul Karim Helmi, the director of Ajman hospital’s emergency department, said the boy was unconscious when he was brought in and was in a coma in the intensive care unit.

“He suffered multiple fractures on almost every part of his body, the most serious fractures being on his head,” he said.

Brig Gen Alwan said officers were still questioning the youngster’s parents and his neighbours. He added that the case would be referred to prosecutors after police had finished their investigations.

There have been a number of cases of children being killed or injured in falls from windows or balconies in Sharjah and Ajman.

Authorities in Sharjah recently started to issue safety regulations for all high-rise buildings. Windows in all new buildings must be at least 1.2 metres off the ground and those in older properties must not open wider than 10 centimetres.