The small coffin of Minsa Mariam Jacob brought tears to the eyes of the residents of Pannimatram village in Kottayam district of Kerala. The body of Minsa, the four-year-old child who was found dead inside her school bus in Qatar on Sunday, September 11 on her birthday, was brought back to her native place and buried on Wednesday. Minsa was studying in kindergarten in Wakra, and was left alone in a locked school bus for over four hours, according to reports, after which she was found dead.
According to news reports, her mortal remains were brought back from Qatar to Nedumbassery and then taken to Pannimatram in an ambulance. She was buried within the premises of her house, as per the wishes of the family.
Minsa is the second daughter of the couple Abilash Chacko and Soumya. She had gone to school on Sunday morning, but fell asleep inside the school bus, which no one noticed. The vehicle was left behind and she got stuck inside it in high heat, and is believed to have suffocated to death.
She was found in an unconscious state inside the bus once the classes were over in the afternoon, and was immediately taken to the Wakra Hospital, but could not be saved. Qatar Tribune reported that the maximum temperature across Qatar was between 36°C and 43°C, on Sunday.
The Qatar Ministry of Education and Higher Education had earlier mourned the death of the girl, on its Twitter handle, and said that investigation will be conducted into the incident and action will be taken. On Wednesday, the Ministry announced that the school has been shut down after negligence was found on the part of the workers. “The Ministry of Education and Higher Education decided to close the private kindergarten which witnessed the tragic accident that shook the community with the death of one of the female students, after the investigation proved the negligence of the workers, who were subjected to the most severe penalties. The Ministry renews its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of our students in our various educational institutions,” it tweeted.
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education decided to close the private kindergarten which witnessed the tragic accident that shook the community with the death of one of the female students,
— وزارة التربية والتعليم والتعليم العالي (@Qatar_Edu) September 13, 2022