Sharjah: A family, seriously injured in an elevator accident, are to have their medical bills paid by His Highness Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, Gulf News can reveal.
UAE | General
Sharjah Ruler to pay medical bills for elevator accident victims
Sultan orders setting up of panel to ensure buildings meet safety standards
- By Aghaddir Ali, Staff Reporter
- Published: 21:20 August 26, 2012
- Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News
- Teba Amr in her hospital bed following the accident. Teba’s son Mustafa was released from hospital two days ago after being treated for skull fractures, but her husband remains in critical condition.
A couple and their child sustained serious injuries earlier this month after the cable of the lift they were in snapped, sending them plummeting from the seventh floor to the basement.
Shaikh Sultan has pledged to help the Iraqi family, who have been in the UAE since 2006, with their medical bills.
Shaikh Sultan also issued instructions on Thursday to set up a committee to oversee security and safety measures in buildings across the emirate.
The committee, to be comprised of members of the Civil Defence Department in Sharjah and the municipality, will monitor standards in both commercial and residential buildings.
In an exclusive chat with Gulf News, cancer-stricken mother Teba Amr, 30, recounted her terrifying ordeal.
Speaking from her hospital bed at Al Qasimi Hospital, she said: “I can’t remember a lot about what happened, but I just pray to God for my husband. I think this has come to us as a test from God. Please pray for me.”
Disaster struck when Teba, her husband Abdul Wahb, 30, and their son Mustafa, 4, were returning to their apartment located on the seventh level of the 12-storey Buti Al Muhairbi building in Sharjah. The family had been out distributing food to the poor in their neighbourhood.
They got in the elevator to go back to their eighth floor apartment, but the lift started shaking violently as it reached the seventh floor.
Crying, Teba recalled: “My husband grabbed our son and put his arms around him to protect him, he knew the lift was going to drop us. I can’t remember what happened next. The next thing I knew, I woke up in hospital and my husband is now very ill. I just hope he recovers as soon as possible and we can get back together, I am praying for him.”
Teba’s husband has been transfered to Rashid Hospital. He sustained multiple fractures and serious back injuries and faces lengthy treatment.
Teba’s son Mustafa was released from hospital two days ago after being treated for fractures to his skull.
Teba herself has a broken leg and bad neck injuries — she can barely move and is set to spend a long time in hospital.
Teba is also fighting thyroid cancer.
Her second son, Mahmoud, 7, is being cared for by her mother — the boy was not in the elevator at the time of the accident.
On Thursday, Rashid Bin Ahmad Al Shaikh, Chairman of the Emiri Diwan in Sharjah, told Sharjah radio and TV that Shaikh Sultan would pay the family’s medical bills.
This came after one of Teba’s neighbours, Umm Hamza, described the family’s plight on the Al Bath Al Mubasher programme.
Umm Hamza said Teba told her that she was very grateful to Shaikh Sultan. She said: “I want to thank him for taking care of us.”
Comments (17)
|
More from UAE General
More from UAE
Latest news
- Where do we look when crossing the road?
- Spare that creaky ride to the top in elevator
- Proper maintenance of lifts a must
- ‘I started smoking at 13, I quit at 18’
- Female climber inspires young women in UAE
- Africa Day Celebrations
- Police help women victims of abuse
- Clinic helps students stub out
- Thumbs up for holistic medicine in the West
- Gel manicures may lead to serious skin problems
- Everest challenge: Arab climbers make history
- You speak Arabic and you don't even know it
- Three brothers get death penalty in Al Ain
- 'No coronavirus cases in the UAE as yet'
- Al Ain officials probe IELTS, TOEFL scam claim
Community Reports
-
Where do we look when crossing the road?
Reader points out that pedestrians aren’t sure which direction to look when crossing the road in certain areas
-
Seek solace in sarod at Madinat Theatre
Get out of the heat and into Amjad Ali Khan's upcoming sarod concert
-
Buses don’t halt at bus stops being excavated
Excavation turns using public transportation into a nightmare
-
Cyclists put their lives in danger
Alarming volumes of cargo totter precariously above their heads