Teenage girl Samia dies after falling from BMU Hospital's eighth floor; father breaks down in grief
A teenage girl named Samia Nur (15) has died after falling from the eighth floor of Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) Hospital in the capital's Shahbagh. On Saturday (24 October) afternoon, she fell accidentally while sitting at a window-like opening in the ward where her mother was being treated.
The incident occurred between around 2:30 pm and 3:00 pm. Samia was rescued in a critically injured state and taken to Dhaka Medical College (DMCH) Hospital. Doctors declared her dead at around 5:30 pm while she was being treated at the One Stop Emergency Centre (OSEC) of the emergency department there.
Samia was a seventh-grade student at Kamarjuri Yusuf Ali High School and Girls College. Her father, Nurunnabi, runs a confectionery shop in the Kalameshwar area near Board Bazar Signboard in Gazipur.
Father Nurunnabi said his wife Parul Akter (45) had been admitted to PG Hospital (BMU) five or six days earlier for treatment of a uterine tumour. Her operation was scheduled for the 28th. She was being treated in a ward on the hospital's eighth floor.
Describing the incident, a grief-stricken Nurunnabi said: 'My daughter had been outside. She came in and said to her mother — Mum, give me rice, I am hungry. After eating, she went and sat at a large window-like place, about waist-high, a little away from the bed.'
He added that at the time, his wife was sitting below the bed eating rice. Sitting at that opening, Samia looked down, felt dizzy, and accidentally fell. The momentary accident has devastated the whole family.
Citing the doctors, Nurunnabi said: 'I heard from the doctor that my daughter's neck was broken, one of her arms was broken. Blood was coming out of her ear. She had internal injuries too, and a lot of internal bleeding.'
The father's tears moved many at the hospital. He said: 'I was childless. I adopted my darling when she was three years old. I raised her with so much love. Today I have lost everything. What will we live for now?'
DMCH Hospital police camp in-charge (Inspector) Md Habibur Rahman confirmed the death, citing the doctors. He said the body is currently kept at the hospital morgue for an autopsy and the concerned police station has been informed.
The tragic death of the daughter, who had come to the hospital for her mother's treatment, has cast a pall of grief over relatives and the neighbourhood. Many have also raised questions about the safety of such window-like openings in hospital wards.
The body will be handed over to the family after the autopsy. With the mother's operation still ahead, the sudden accident has left the entire family distraught.
