Saudi Aramco is close to retrieving all the remains of the little girl who died in an abandoned artesian well in Tabuk over a month ago.
The team has already retrieved parts of six-year-old Lama Al-Rouqi’s body after first finding her doll and other clothing. DNA tests have proven that these were part of her remains.
Saudi Aramco and Civil Defense teams have struggled to extract her body since she fell into the well on Dec. 20 in Wadi Asmar in Haql governorate. Lama fell into the covered well through a hole in its wall.
Maj. Gen. Mastour Al-Harithy, director of the Civil Defense in Tabuk, said team members had already dug a hole parallel to the well. A Civil Defense expert would be lowered into this hole and then dig another corridor into the well where the body is lying.
Col. Mamdouh Al-Anazi, spokesman of the Tabuk Civil Defense, said all departments were working around the clock to finish the task.
The father of the little girl had alleged that the Civil Defense had been slow to react to the crisis and failed to bring in high-tech equipment several days ago.
However, Al-Harithy had refuted these charges saying that 216 officers were deployed at the location to help with the rescue operation as soon as the father reported the incident. This included help from Aramco and other experts, he said.
The official added that the difficult terrain of the well and the surrounding area delayed the rescue operation. The 114-meter-deep parallel well has been dug using the most advanced systems of the oil giant, he said.
Meanwhile, Lama’s father has hired a legal firm, Al-Azeebi International, to sue those who had allegedly spread rumors and allegations about him in the media and on social networking sites.
Al-Azeebi stated that it would pursue some journalists for posting messages on Twitter about the father. Penalties under the country’s cyber laws include imprisonment, a fine of SR500,000, or both.
Abdulaziz Al-Aqeel, spokesman for the Ministry of Culture and Information, said lawsuits could be filed under the country’s media legislation.
“There are three independent judicial committees, the print violations committee, the audiovisual and electronic violations committee and the individual violations committee. These committees would issue penalties based on the harm inflicted,” he said.
Legal adviser Hamour Al-Khalidi called on Lama’s family to file lawsuits against those who published statements without their permission and that damaged their reputation.
Al-Khalidi suggested the family file a complaint with the information ministry through the electronic violations committee.
Rest of Lama’s body to be retrieved soon
