A funeral place was set up in the Sint-Martinus school in Burcht for 4-year-old Sidra, who died on Tuesday as a result of an accident in gymnastics class. “We try to give everyone a place to express their feelings,” says Geert De Corte, general director of the Catholic Schools on the Scheldt school group. It has now become known that an investigation into accidental killing is underway.
On Friday morning around 11 o’clock an accident happened in the Sint-Martinus school during the gymnastics lesson of the ‘bumba class’. Four-year-old Sidra Atmane suffered life-threatening injuries when she became stuck in a gymnastics apparatus during the ‘travel around the world’ game, in which the toddlers had to complete an obstacle course in the gymnastics hall. She was resuscitated by the gymnastics teacher and director and then taken to hospital in a critical condition.
READ ALSO. Sidra (4) from Burcht died in hospital after an accident during gymnastics lessons
Mourning place
Five days later, little Sidra died from her injuries. “That news hit me very hard,” Geert De Corte, general director of the Catholic Schools on the Scheldt school group, responded to the death. The school decided to set up a mourning place at the school on Wednesday, a day after the death. “There is now a lot of sadness and defeat. We want to give everyone a place to express their feelings. There is a funeral register for those who want to leave a message and there are drawing sheets available for the children,” says the director.
Five days after the accident, little Sidra died from her injuries. — © if
Just became a father myself
For example, a mother and her son, who preferred to remain anonymous, laid flowers at the funeral site. “When we heard about the accident on Friday, we could only pray for a good outcome, but then the terrible news came on Tuesday. The parents, whom we know well, are devastated. It is terrible what they are experiencing now,” says the mother. “For the time being, they do not want any contact with the school, it is still too early for that. We all still have so many questions. Mainly ‘how’ this could have happened.”
READ ALSO. Sidra (4) died after being crushed during gymnastics practice: “We still don’t understand how this could happen”
“I sympathize with everyone, the school, the parents, but also the gymnastics teacher. He is a good teacher who also teaches gymnastics to my son. He certainly didn’t want this. He recently became a dad himself. This must be terrible for him too.” The mother also stated that there will be no funeral in Belgium, but that Sidra will be taken to Morocco by her parents to be buried there.
Accidental killing
The investigation into the exact circumstances of the accident is ongoing, the public prosecutor’s office said. Last weekend, an investigating judge was appointed to investigate unintentional assault and battery. “After the death, this was adjusted to accidental killing,” the spokesperson for the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office said. No further substantive information could be provided at this stage of the research.
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