The body of Safa Mubarak, the seven-year-old Indian girl who died after falling from a third-floor apartment in Sharjah, was to be flown to Kerala for burial after her family completed documentation and procedures in line with Islamic customs at the Sharjah Forensic Laboratory.
Scores of friends, family members and strangers gathered at the laboratory on Thursday afternoon to pay their respects. The family planned to repatriate the child that night to her parents’ hometown in Kasaragod district, in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
What happened in the Al Nabba apartment
Safa died on Monday after falling from the family’s flat in Sharjah’s Al Nabba area. Her father, Mubarak Ali, had stepped outside briefly to move his car. Her mother, Murshida Mubarak, was at work.
Safa’s uncle, Mansoor Ali, said the girl appeared to have woken up, opened the sliding window door and lost her balance, possibly while looking for her father. He told Gulf News that Mubarak had not been away for more than five minutes when the accident happened.
After she fell, Safa was rushed to hospital but later succumbed to her injuries.
Sharjah Police’s Operations Room received the report early Monday morning and emergency teams went immediately to the scene. The child’s body was transferred to the forensic laboratory to determine the cause of death and an investigation was launched to establish the full circumstances. The police have since said they believe the incident was an accident and that no criminal act was involved.
A family preparing to return to school
Safa was a Grade 2 student at a school in Ajman and had been looking forward to the new term, which was due to start the week after the incident. The family had been living in Sharjah for about eight years.
Mubarak Ali works at a healthcare facility in Dubai. Murshida works with a real estate company in Sharjah. A relative said Murshida had not taken a job until Safa started school, describing her as a hands-on mother for whom Safa was always the first priority.
The family had returned from India just days before the incident, where they had attended a wedding. Those who knew Safa remembered her as outgoing and energetic. ‘She was a chatterbox,’ an aunt said. ‘At the wedding function, everyone knew who Safa was because she talked to all the visitors. She was so energetic and bright.’
A close family friend said the loss had been devastating for the wider community. ‘I had returned to work after a holiday on the day of the incident,’ she said. ‘But I haven’t been able to go back since.’ She said her children were around the same age as Safa and had played together regularly. ‘For Eid and family holidays, we were always together. I have tried to explain to my son about Safa’s death, but he is too young to understand. I haven’t been able to sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see her face.’
The Sharjah fall investigation remains open as police work to finalise their findings on the circumstances of the incident.
