Search continues for missing 12-year-old at Halabja’s Ahmad Awa Waterfall

HALABJA — Rescue teams and local volunteers continued searching Wednesday for Ruqaya Rafid, 12, a girl from Karbala who disappeared Tuesday afternoon at Ahmad Awa Waterfall in Halabja governorate, prompting authorities to close the popular tourist site.

Rafid disappeared at around 4 p.m. Tuesday while visiting the area with her family. Her father, Rafid Hussein, said she had moved closer to the water to take photographs despite her mother’s calls to come back.

“My daughter went down toward the water to take pictures, and despite her mother’s request for her to come back, she continued taking photos until she disappeared from our sight,” he said.

A pair of her sandals was found near the water’s edge. Civil defense teams began searching the Zalm stream from 7 p.m. Tuesday, assisted by local residents through the night.

Abidin Abdulrahman, director of Halabja Civil Defense, said the terrain and water conditions have complicated the search. “The nature of the area and the course of the Zalm stream are very difficult,” he said, noting that water flows rapidly from higher elevations and carries large rocks.

Halabja authorities closed Ahmad Awa Waterfall to visitors Wednesday to protect the public and allow rescue crews to work more effectively, urging compliance with the closure.

Ahmad Awa is one of the Kurdistan Region’s most popular natural landmarks, drawing thousands of visitors each year for its waterfalls, mountain scenery and fast-flowing streams.