Four-year-old’s death brings Eid to tragic early end for family in Baghdad
The urban housing complex, the largest in Iraq, lies 10-kilometers southeast of Baghdad and has yet to complete the construction of a hospital capable of providing immediate emergency medical care.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Baghdad’s largest residential complex canceled local Eid celebrations after a young girl fell to her death from the family’s seventh-floor apartment balcony.
A four-year-old girl, known only as Ghazal, died during the holiday in Bismayah New City project, a South Korean-built national housing complex designed to accommodate over half a million occupants.
The urban housing complex, the largest in Iraq, lies 10-kilometers southeast of Baghdad and has yet to complete the construction of a hospital capable of providing immediate emergency medical care.
Witnesses told Kurdistan 24 that the girl was rushed to Zaafaraniya Hospital in Baghdad but passed away on the way over. Residents of the complex blamed the government for not providing adequate services and decided not to hold Eid al-Adha celebrations because of the incident, calling on all parents to be careful.
“We were shocked. One of our children, dying in such a tragic way,” resident Saad Majid told Kurdistan 24 during a vigil held in the child's honor.
Construction of the complex is still ongoing, but such incidents highlight safety concerns and lack of infrastructure for dealing with health emergencies in the urban residential project.
Editing by John J. Catherine
