ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - While attempting to escape southern Iraq’s summer heat by going for a swim, four boys, between the ages of eight to 18, lost their lives after drowning in an oil spill pit in Basra on Tuesday.
A group consisting of eight cousins bypassed a fence surrounding an oil field to go for a swim in a small pond that had appeared near the pit in Basra’s Zubair district, according to the district’s mayor, Abbas Mahir.
The pond had formed as a result of a water pipe bursting nearby, Aziz Hashim, spokesperson for the Basra police, told Rudaw.
After accidentally falling in, the boys were unable to pull themselves out of the pit, Mahir added. The victims include three brothers and one of their cousins.
The mayor added that an investigation into the incident has been launched.
Extremely high temperatures are regularly recorded across Iraq during summertime, exacerbated by water scarcity, desertification and reduced rainfall. Many people try to escape the heat by going for a swim in the natural bodies of water or public pools.
Iraq’s meteorology and seismology organization last week forecasted that temperatures are set to reach 50 degrees Celsius in seven provinces.
Iraq’s health ministry issued instructions to citizens in June, advising them to avoid going outside and to avoid direct sunlight “especially during the hottest hours, which are between 10 am and 4 pm.”
