Teenager drowns in Ras Al Khaimah dam, residents demand barriers to be constructed

Rashid Juma Ali Al Mazrouei, 16, died in Al Aym area of Ras Al Khaimah after drowning in Adhan Dam last Saturday, while his cousin, who was with him during the incident, survived the same fate.

Residents of seven neighboring towns in the area; namely, Al Aym, Adhan, Al Ghail, Wadi Kub and Al Ais, which belong to Ras Al Khaimah, and Wadi Al Tawyeen and Al Sarm, which belong to Fujairah, demanded the construction of barriers around the area’s dams to prevent the recurrence of this type of dangerous accidents.

Rashid's body was laid to rest in Al Aym cemetery last Sunday in a funeral held at 6am and attended by a crowd of people from the seven, among others.

“My son in the tenth grade was the victim of the accident, which took place after the Asr prayer around 4:30pm. He was riding with his cousin on a bicycle and fate led them to the dam located in our area of Al Aym, also known as Wadi Al Aym Dam, where they stopped the bicycle and got off to walk on the edge of the dam, as there is no fence between the land and the water, so my son’s foot slipped and he fell into the dam’s basin,” Juma Al Mazrouei, Rashid’s father, said.

“His cousin tried to help him, but to no avail. He then contacted his father, who in turn contacted me. The news hit me like a thunderbolt, and we immediately rushed to the scene of the accident, only to find my son’s lifeless body floating on the water,” the grieving father added.

“My brother and I went down into the water to retrieve Rashid from the dam’s lake, but we couldn't because of the high water level. We then contacted the concerned authorities which succeeded in doing so, bringing him out as a lifeless body, in a truly horrific scene,” he said.

Wadi Al Aym is about 50 kilometers from Ras Al Khaimah City and about 7 kilometers from Adhan town.

Ahmed Al Wali Al Mazrouei, a notable of the nearby Adhan area, called for the construction of an iron fence or a cement barrier around the Adhan Dam in the Wadi Al Aym area, where the drowning incident occurred, and around the rest of the dams in the area for the residents to protect their children from dangerous drowning incidents.

Salem Al Mazrouei, a resident of Al Ghail area, said building a barrier around the Adhan Dam and other dams in the area became an urgent demand among the residents of the seven towns and turned into a popular demand, especially after the young man drowned.

The site turned into a source of double danger and imminent threat to residents, visitors and tourists, after the heavy rains recently, he added.

He noted the remarkable popularity of the dam among local residents, visitors, tourists, nature enthusiasts and farm workers, stressing that the current situation at the dam site and its surroundings poses a significant risk.

Al Mazrouei explained that Adhan Dam is a landmark in the area and one of the largest dams in the southern areas of the emirate, attracting a constant stream of visitors, which would necessitate security standards and safety measures at the site to be strengthened.