RAS AL KHAIMAH // The electrocution of a seven-year-old boy has prompted calls for greater safety measures and accountability to prevent another tragedy.
Moyachery Safvan, known to most as Mohammed, died on Thursday night when he stepped on a live wire that was half-buried in a sand pitch while he was out playing with his father.
The wire was connected to a lamp post that had been activated during Ramadan to provide light for a nearby volleyball court.
"It's a trauma for the parents and the children," said Sandra Fernandes, the counsellor at Scholars Indian School, where Mohammed was in Grade 2.
"We would humbly request the authorities to take preventative measures. They need to make sure wires are not left in the open."
For boys in the neighbourhood, life revolves around the mosque and the sand pitch.
Ali Awad, an 18-year-old Yemeni who lives beside the pitch, said it was a favourite play area for his three- and four-year-old cousins.
His sisters were dropped off by the school bus just a few metres from where Mohammed died. He blamed authorities for the incident.
"The Government set the lights up for people to play in Ramadan," Mr Awad said. "When Ramadan finished they didn't turn it off."
The wire was cut after the accident and remains in the sand, raising concerns about the likelihood of similar accidents.
There is still a lit pitch on the beach opposite. "When the rain comes it will be a big problem," said Salem Awad, 25, Ali's cousin.
"There are wires like this everywhere in the city."
The Federal Electricity and Water Authority, which provides power to the emirate, could not be reached for comment.
Concern among local residents was exacerbated by the lack of an alternative play area in the neighbourhood, said Yasser Abdulla, 27, who lives near the Safvan family.
"There's no safe place to go, no parks, no places to play football," he said. "We need them."
Boys in the neighbourhood were reluctant to head outdoors for recreation again because of the incident.
Naduvile Althak, a 16-year-old who saw the tragedy, was among them.
"It's a very pathetic situation," he said. "I cannot say anything about the safety of these wires. "It's been like this for two months. We didn't think it was so dangerous [before]."
Mohammed was the youngest of a dozen boys who met to play volleyball on Thursdays.
Too small to join the game, he was collecting the ball from out of bounds when he made contact with the wire.
He is remembered as smart and mischievous with handsome features under black hair and slender eyebrows.
"He was very small, always a smiling face," Ms Fernandes said.
azacharias@thenational.ae
