Child drowns at Khabat water project, civil defense says

ERBIL — A seven-year-old child drowned at the Khabat water project on Saturday, according to Erbil’s Civil Defense Directorate.

Civil defense spokesperson Shakhawan Saeed told 964media that search teams were alerted at 4 p.m. and deployed underwater rescue units to locate the child. After an extensive search, the child’s body was recovered and transferred to the forensic department.

In a similar incident last month, on Feb. 17, a two-year-old drowned in a fish pond in Kani Hanjir village in Sulaymaniyah’s Chamchamal district.

As of August 2024, civil defense data indicate that nearly 60 people, mostly children, have drowned in Kurdistan’s rivers and lakes.

In 2023, more than 100 drownings were recorded across the Kurdistan Region. In response, civil defense teams have intensified rescue operations, saving nearly 70 people.