Funeral prayers were first offered at the Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas mosque in Taif and then again near the burial ground. The coroner’s report said the death occurred by drowning and ruled out any foul play.

Sheikh Abdul Mohsen Al-Obeikan, an adviser to the Royal Court, said the woman, called Munirah, was a martyr and quoted a saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that anyone who died by drowning is a martyr.

Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal called the woman’s relatives to convey his condolences. Spokesman for Taif police Maj. Turki Al-Shehri also offered condolences on behalf of the police

Munirah’s body was retrieved 12 days after she fell into the 40 cm diameter well. The narrow mouth of the well made rescue extremely difficult.

Taif municipality and Civil Defense have started to fill the well. Two other wells dug nearby to reach her body are also being filled.

“Over the past many years, the Civil Defense have been striving to persuade tribal chiefs to put lids over wells and build protective walls around them,” Lt. Col. Khaled Al-Qahtani said.

Al-Qahtani urged well owners in Taif to take necessary steps to cover their wells so they do not pose any harm to people. He added that his department sometimes find it difficult to locate the owners of wells in remote areas.

More than 100 officers and other rescue officials participated in the 12-day operation, which was supervised by Director of the Civil Defense in Makkah, Maj. Gen. Adil Zamzami.

The Civil Defense also sought the advice of experts from Saudi Aramco and the Saudi Geological Survey in a bid to save the woman. As direct access to the well was impossible, two other wells were dug a couple of meters away from the old well so that rescuers could get close to her body.