The death of a 25-year-old Syrian engineer after falling into a sewage pit in the Lattakia governorate sparked a wave of anger among residents over the regime’s neglect of the governorate. The state of anger extended to include some celebrities known for their loyalty to the Syrian regime for many years.
The engineer Nada Daoud died last Thursday after falling into a sewage pit left negligently in one of the largest streets in the city of Latakia– on the al-Thawra highway near the Azhari roundabout. Her mother, who fell with her, was rescued.
The residents accused the regime’s institutions, led by the municipality, of neglect and disregard for the lives of citizens. Somewhat contradictory statements appeared between the account of the family of the deceased and the version of the regime-affiliated teams of what happened, most notably the Latakia Fire Brigade.
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Although the Latakia Fire Brigade admitted that it had received a report that a girl had fallen into a sewage pit on the Thawra highway at 6:51 pm on Thursday. The brother of the deceased, Ghanem Daoud, clearly indicated that when he arrived at the scene at 8:45 pm, he found only two firefighters at the site, without the presence of any professional diver.
Ghanem explained that the place was full of White Helmets personnel and many civilians, but none of them provided assistance. Instead of contributing to the attempt to save the woman, they were busy filming the pit with their mobile cameras.
The regime’s institutions did not contribute anything during the rescue attempt, and Ghanem even had to knock on the doors of neighbours in the area in search of ropes to save his sister. Someone volunteered to shine his car lights towards the hole to light the place slightly, as the entire area is plunged into darkness due to power outages.
At 12 o’clock at night, Ghanem and two members of the fire brigade managed to reach Nada and pull her out of the hole. According to the girl’s brother, the deceased was still alive, but he was surprised that there was no doctor in the ambulance that attended, not even resuscitation devices. Although he is not a specialist, he had to participate with the only nurse in the ambulance in Nada’s cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Inside the unqualified ambulance, Nada remained stuck for a full quarter of an hour until she managed to leave the area. This is due to the intensification of checkpoints and patrols in the area by the regime after the incident, depriving Nada of all possible chances of survival.
Celebrities close to the regime call for accountability
The state of discontent among the people extended to celebrities known for their support of the regime, especially since the most prominent measures taken by the regime were to cover the hole that killed Nada with concrete covers. This increased the anger of people who mocked the “professional method” of the regime in solving problems. After this, the regime rushed to dismiss Talal Ahmed Ghanem, director of the General Company for Sanitation in Latakia, accusing him of negligence in his work.
The actor Firas Ibrahim called for throwing officials in the same hole. He wrote: “Those responsible for the drowning and death of the young engineer Nada Daoud in the sewage pit in Latakia (and most of them) must be held accountable and sentenced to be thrown in the same hole one by one. Such a neglected and dirty pit was not worthy of this beautiful girl, but it is certainly worthy of those responsible – for this crime – and their supporters and those who are silent about their negligence and corruption.”
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
