Abu Dhabi, Oct 8 (Emirates 247) : A four-year-old Indian school girl who was found dead in the bus in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday was left asleep for several hours after the van was locked by the driver and the bus supervisor, a senior police officer was quoted on Wednesday as saying.

Naziha Lal Ahmed, who was in the private Al Worood school, was found dead at the end of the school day after she apparently suffocated inside the locked bus on a hot day.

“The bus driver and supervisor are principally responsible for the child’s death. The rules we have set are very clear and they are intended to upgrade safety on school buses,” Abu Dhabi traffic police chief Brigadier Hussein Al Harthi said, quoted by the semi-official Arabic language daily 'Al Ittihad'.

The paper said its reporter went to the child’s home and met her grandfather, who said the family was too distressed to speak to anyone.

“I can tell you that we lost our granddaughter because of negligence and a grave mistake by persons who are supposed to look after school children, not leaving them to die inside buses,” Asghar Ali told the paper.

He said Naziha got on the school bus around 6.30am and that the family received a phone call from the school management around 12.30pm.

“They refused to tell us what the problem was. When we went there, they conveyed to us the sad news. I would like now to ask the bus driver and the supervisor why they have done this. How can they lock the bus without checking whether there are any school children left inside,” he asked.

The paper quoted Al Worood Principal Roderick Williams as saying he offers condolences to the child’s family.

“ I am very sad for this accident, which is the first in our school’s history of more than 30 years. Police are still investigating and the school is waiting for the outcome. We are also conducting our own investigation.”

Memorial service

School business manager Dina El Tayeb Rabei has reportedly contacted the family of the child to consult as to when a memorial service can be held in the school.

Embassy mourns

Anand Bardhan, Counsellor (Community Affairs) at Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi, expressed shock over Naziha’s death.

“I did try and speak to the father of the child, but he was not in the right frame of mind to talk. However, I did talk to a close family friend, who told me that the family is in a state of shock.

“It’s a tragic incident and we will extend all assistance to the family,” he told Emirates24|7.