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Abu Dhabi: Statistics have shown that more than 1,662 children were injured in various accidents last year alone, prompting Abu Dhabi Police to launch a child safety campaign across Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western Region.
Abu Dhabi Police on Tuesday announced the launch of a campaign focused on increasing public awareness on safety of children in cars, buildings and at the sea.
Among the 1,662 children who were injured last year, 228 children fell from windows or balconies of buildings, 56 drowned and 19 suffered from suffocation. The remaining 1,359 children were involved in other incidents such as traffic accidents.
“The campaign will highlight three issues- suffocation within cars, falling off buildings and drowning”, said Brigadier Mohammed Al Muhairi, the Director of Capital Police station.
“The responsibility of saving children is not restricted to the police alone. Parents play a vital role in this and hence it is important to create awareness,” he said.
Organised under the motto “Children…Their lives are precious,” the campaign will go on until September 13.
“Over the years, the number of children involved in accidents has gone up drastically. While 53 children were injured in mishaps in 2001, the number rose to 833 in 2005 and 1,334 in 2006,” Colonel Othman Al Tamimi, Director of Emergency and Safety Management section said.
The campaign will start by highlighting the issue of suffocation of children in cars, ahead of the summer months, said Major Nasser Al Ka’abi, the Director of the Public Relations of Abu Dhabi Police, adding that a series of campaigns are coming up as part of the recently announced six-point strategy of the police.
Apart from TV and radio shows, lectures will be organised at schools and cultural organisations. 50,000 brochures will be distributed to the public and SMS alerts will also be sent.
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