Tragedy struck a family when a six-year-old boy named Issa drowned in a water tank located near their home in Al Ain, UAE. His mother’s cries shattered the quiet neighborhood after she found her son floating lifelessly on the water’s surface.
According to a Gulf Today report, Issa had been playing with his younger sister, Maryam, while their father, an imam and Quran teacher, was preparing to leave for work. “I was with my children, Issa and his sister Maryam, who were playing in front of the house, during the time between Asr and Maghrib prayers. As the time to go to work approached, I brought them into the courtyard of the house, closed the door, and left,” the father said.
Less than an hour later, his world collapsed when he received a call from his wife screaming that their son had died. “Her words struck my heart before they reached my ears like a thunderbolt,” he said, recalling the devastating moment. He rushed home, only to be told that neighbors had already taken Issa to the hospital—where doctors confirmed his death.
Through tears, the child’s mother recounted that she had been keeping an eye on her children every few minutes as they played both inside and outside the house. Her daughter’s sudden scream shattered the routine: “Mama, Issa fell into the hole.”
“I thought she couldn’t explain properly what had happened,” the mother said, describing how she followed Maryam to the site, praying it wasn’t true. “When she pointed to the scene of the accident and I saw my child floating in the tank, I screamed in pain and the neighbors rushed to the scene.”
Issa, a first grader at Mohammed Bin Khalid School, was pronounced dead shortly after being brought to the hospital.
