A manmade urban disaster caused a child death: experience and lessons learnt from a tragic case study in bangladesh

Background: Fall injuries are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, there are numerous manholes and ditches in the road, which are a very dangerous hazard for anyone who falls in them. In many cases, these dangers are not protected or covered over. Objective: To explore the issue of urban falls, how the emergency rescue process is initiated and what the lessons learnt are from the tragic event involving a four year old boy who fell down an unprotected well. Methods: We are describing a case report for a four year old boy who fell into a pipe measuring 17” in diameter and 300ft in depth, which was on the roadside for a deep well water pump. Content analysis was captured and analyzed from the local and international media sources. Results: The Bangladesh Fire and Civil Defence Service responded and on the scene within 30 minutes after the disaster occurred. They tried to rescue the child in many ways, but sadly after 23 hours of trying, the child was finally rescued but had already died. Conclusions: An unusual case of a fall related injury of a child who died due to drowning in this study. The experience and lessons learnt from the tragic event is useful for the development of strategy to treat emergency management in low income settings.