Team Herald
MARGAO: In two heart-wrenching incidents reported from South Goa, two young girls - aged 10 and 3 - lost their lives due to drowning, one in a canal at Sirvoi, Quepem and the other in a resort swimming pool at Agonda, Canacona. The unrelated tragedies have sparked renewed calls for better safety measures around water bodies, particularly during family outings and social events.
In the first incident late Sunday evening, Shahad Shaik, a 10-year-old school girl from Padamol, Sirvoi in Quepem, drowned in a canal after she reportedly went to wash her feet in the water during a family wedding.
According to the Quepem Police, her body was recovered around 10 pm. She was the youngest of three children and had accompanied her mother to a wedding at a house located adjacent to the canal. Police said the girl had earlier told her mother she wanted to wash her feet in the canal and is believed to have reached the spot around 6 pm, after which she accidentally fell in and was swept away by the current.
Her absence was noticed around 7 pm, prompting a frantic search. “When the mother began looking for her missing daughter, she recalled that Shahad had said she wanted to go to the canal and wash her feet,” said a police officer. Family members and local residents then began combing the area, but could not locate her.
At around 10 pm, her body was found floating approximately 300 metres away from the house. Locals removed the body from the water before police arrived.
The body was sent to South Goa District Hospital for post-mortem examination where the autopsy confirmed the cause of death as “asphyxia as a result of drowning.” Police recorded statements from the family and witnesses and ruled out foul play. The body was handed over to the family for final rites.
This case adds to a series of recent drowning incidents in Goa, raising concerns about child safety near open water bodies.
In a separate incident on the same day, a three-year-old girl, Fatima Imdad Afroz Saizy, from Jamis Nagar, Okhla, South Delhi, drowned in a swimming pool at a resort in Agonda, Canacona.
Police said they were informed by the duty doctor at Canacona Health Centre that the child was brought dead by her parents following a drowning incident at a resort.
According to the father, Imdad Afroz Saizy, the family had gone to the resort for lunch, and during the meal, Fatima wandered off without the parents noticing and accidentally fell into the swimming pool. By the time the parents realised, the child had drowned.
They rushed her for medical assistance, but the duty doctor declared her brought dead.
Police conducted a scene of unnatural death panchanama, and the body was sent to the South Goa District Hospital, Margao, for a post-mortem. The Police Surgeon confirmed the cause of death as “asphyxia as a result of drowning in water.” The body has been handed over to the family for final rites.
PSI Vishal Velip of Canacona Police Station is investigating the case.
The two incidents have cast a spotlight on the lack of safety infrastructure and vigilance around water bodies in Goa. With a rise in such tragedies, especially involving minors, calls for stricter safety protocols, signage, and monitoring around open canals and private swimming pools are growing louder.