Under the Headlines: "Oddly Enough"

Hail Schoolboy Rescued After Falling in Manhole

Arab News

HAIL, 7 October 2006 — The Education Department opened an investigation after a sixth grade student in the village of Al-Mutareda, 100 kilometers south of Hail, fell in an open sewage hole and had to be rescued by a teacher who witnessed the fall, the daily Al-Riyadh reported yesterday.

School officials have pointed the finger at the maintenance department at the Education Ministry. The school principal, Khalaf ibn Abdul Muhsin, said that the school contacted the maintenance department to perform maintenance duties at the school after a construction project left behind debris and possibly the open manhole.

“During a football game, the student went to get the ball outside the bounds,” Abdul Muhsin told Al-Riyadh.

“The student did not see the sewage hole because it was covered with foliage. I have asked on numerous occasions that (the ministry’s) maintenance department to come and cover the hole properly but with no luck.”

The principal said teachers have temporarily covered the hole with a metal door, but did not explain why that had not been done before the accident occurred.

The newspaper cited an anonymous department source as saying that maintaining sewage works is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Education.