“I lost my daughter because I gave her a present for succeeding in her school exams.” With these words, Saudi national Ali Al-Saab, father of Fatima, who drowned in the sea off the Corniche here on Thursday, started an interview with Okaz. He added, while wiping away his tears, “When my daughter Fatima received her examination results, she came to me and said, ‘Thanks to Allah, I have passed. I want my present now.' I promised to give her a present if she succeeded in her exams. The present she requested was that the entire family should go to the sea, take breakfast there and spend some time together. I agreed to her request and on Thursday morning, we all went to the Corniche. After taking breakfast, Fatima waded into the sea. The seawater was polluted with garbage and stagnant water from the sewage drains, so she moved a little further. Minutes later, we saw her shouting for help.” Al-Saab hopes that his daughter's body will be recovered before it is eaten by fish. He added, “I have ten children – sons and daughters – and my whole family is in a state of deep grief. Fatima's younger brothers are incessantly asking for her.” Fuad, Saleh and Ahmad Al-Saab hope that their sister is found fast. They keep wondering what happened to her and why her body has not been found yet. The search operations for Fatima's body continued for a second consecutive day at dawn Friday after the Frontier Guard Sector had stopped the search on Thursday night as darkness set in. Navy Lt. Col. Saleh Al-Shihri, spokesperson of the Frontier Guard Command in Makkah Region, said the search operations stopped at night but were resumed in the morning. He said there is heavy machinery at the scene and the search is going on at several locations. He said the girl was seen drowning in an area where swimming is totally banned. There are more than 40 divers participating in the search for Fatima. Many are professional divers who have volunteered to participate in the search operation. They insisted on taking part in the operation despite the fear that the waters have swept the girl's body toward the south of the Corniche near the desalination plant.
