Nineveh warns over ISIS-era wells after child deaths

Shafaq News- Nineveh

Nineveh’s General Commission for Groundwater on Sunday urged residents to fill in or securely seal abandoned wells dug during water shortages under ISIS rule, after three children fell into such wells in less than a month, two of them fatally.

Commission director Abdulrahman Abdulhadi told Shafaq News that residents in villages and districts had dug many of the wells to meet daily water needs during periods of severe shortages. Some were later abandoned without being properly sealed or secured.

Abdulhadi said awareness efforts were continuing alongside directives from the Nineveh governor requiring local administrations and residents to secure open wells and remove safety hazards.

Three incidents have been recorded in the province in less than a month. A girl named Hajar died after falling into a well in Kwer, followed by the death of six-year-old Amir in a well in Rabia. On Saturday, Civil Defense teams rescued a two-year-old child who fell into a dry, abandoned well in the Al-Shishan area of Al-Baaj district.