JEDDAH: Jeddah police have referred the case of 8-year-old Taleen, who drowned in a sewage tank in the Al-Faiyha neighborhood, to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution for further investigation and prosecution of those responsible for her death, a local publication reported.

Capt. Fahd Al-Malki, spokesman for Jeddah police, said the owner of a sewage truck, who opened the lid of the sewage tank, is currently detained pending further investigation.

"Around 11:30 p.m., Taleen went out of the house to buy something from a neighborhood shop. Apparently she fell in the open sewage tank while walking. Everybody in the house felt she was late and started looking for her with the help of some neighbors."

He said that while they were searching for the girl some of the family members remembered that a sewage truck driver had opened the lid of the tank adjoining their building hours earlier.

He added: "We opened the lid, which was partially opened, and discovered her head collar floating on the surface. We called Civil Defense who immediately came and removed her body after six hours of search operations. The body was taken to the morgue at King Abdulaziz Hospital."

Makkah Civil Defense spokesman Col. Saeed Sarhan said Taleen's father filed a report to the police saying his child went missing from the house. Her parents said at the time they thought she had fallen in the sewage tank and the Civil Defense team went to the scene and found the girl dead inside. After the removal of the body, the case was referred to police for further investigation.

Ibrahim Abdo Hamdi, the girl's father, appealed to the authorities to hold accountable whoever was responsible for the death of his child. He said neglect was the main cause of his daughter's death because the sewage tank was open when she fell. He demanded establishing more strict safety measures for pedestrians so that such tragedies are not repeated.