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.
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.”
