On Friday, August 30th, 2024, the Civil Defense in Ma'rib Governorate, Yemen, reported the retrieval of two children who had drowned the previous day. One of the victims was an Ethiopian national. Both incidents were attributed to parental negligence and the children's lack of swimming skills.

According to the Security Media Center of the Ministry of Interior, Civil Defense teams in Ma'rib recovered the body of Ibrahim Abdo Ahmed Mabkhout Al-Sha'ibi (15), a native of Hudaydah residing in the "Mill" area. His body was found in a water discharge pit near the new university.

The Civil Defense attributed the tragic incident to "parental negligence and the victim's lack of swimming ability."

In a separate incident, Civil Defense teams retrieved the body of Sha'ban Abdul Rahman Yusuf Sabd (16), an Ethiopian national, from a water diversion pit near the Saqman area of the Ma'rib dam. He had drowned due to his inability to swim.

The Civil Defense stated that both bodies were placed in the hospital morgue pending the completion of investigations into the incidents before being released to their families for burial.

The Civil Defense urged citizens to "not allow their children to venture near dam water or rainwater runoff areas unsupervised, and not allow them to enter the water without knowing how to swim, to ensure their safety from water-related hazards and prevent drowning incidents."