Indonesian boy, 8, crushed by collapsing wall while performing ablution for prayer
The ablution a boy was performing in Indonesia turned out to be his final act, when he was crushed by a wall that gave way after a teen on his motorcycle rammed into it.
In surveillance camera footage that has been circulating online, Gian Septiawan Ardani, an eight-year-old primary school student, is seen performing pre-prayer washing rites with another boy at a wall.
Both are wearing traditional headgear at a mosque, identified later on Monday to be a public mosque in Lubuk Minturun, West Sumatra.
Their ritual is interrupted when a motorcycle, ridden by someone who appears to be standing on it, comes into view and collides into a wall near the two boys. The wall collapses on Gian’s head. His companion manages to dodge the concrete block.
Gian, who was reportedly rushed to a hospital, was pronounced dead from serious head injuries and excessive blood loss.
A local traffic police inspector in Padang said the crash occurred at around 3pm local time on Monday, and involved a Yamaha Mio Sporty motorcyle. Investigations are ongoing.
An administrator of the mosque, Mr Desriadi, told Republika on Tuesday that the motorcyclist was “freestyling” and standing upright when he lost control of his vehicle at the mosque’s parking lot, adding that he was part of a group of students who were known to often ride recklessly.
The rider is a 13-year-old junior high school student, but identified only by his initials MHA, Indonesian media reported.
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