Santhosh Chandran
Doha
An investigation has been ordered into the death of a four-year-old girl in Al Wakra after she was left alone in a school bus for four hours on her birthday.
Minza Mariam Jacob — daughter of Abhilash and Sowmya Chacko, expatriates from South India's Kerala — is believed to have dozed off on her way to The Springfield Kindergarten on Sunday.
The bus reached the school in Al Wakra at around 7.30 am, according to friends of the family.
They alleged that neither the driver nor the school staff noticed the child was inside until it was time to drop the students back home, at around 11:30 am.
She was rushed to a hospital in Wakra but could not be revived.
The peak temperatures in Qatar ranged from 36°C to 43°C on Sunday.
The friends of the family alleged there was no other staff member on the bus besides the driver on that day.
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education expressed its sorrow over the death and extended its "sincere condolences" to the family.
It affirmed "maximum penalties” against those held responsible for the tragedy.
The ministry said it holds the security and safety of students to the highest standards and that it would not tolerate any shortcomings in this regard.
Minza's body is expected to be flown to Kerala once all the formalities are completed.
The child’s father, Chacko, is working in a private firm in Doha and one of Minza’s sisteris a student at an Indian school in Doha.