Heartbreaking statements have been made by a grieving St Albans dad whose daughter hit headlines this week when she died on a theme park water ride.
Muhammed Suable Islam’s daughter, 11-year-old Evha Jannath, was on a school trip when she fell from the Splash Canyon ride at Drayton Park Manor on May 9.
Staffordshire Police said after Evha was pulled from the water, she was given advanced life support and flown to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where she later passed away.
The park will reopen on May 13, but the ride in question will stay closed while a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inquiry is ongoing.
In an interview to The Mail on Sunday Muhammed revealed that he is estranged from Evha’s mother, Musammath Nurun Nahar, and the whole family lived in St Albans until three years ago when Musammath, Evha, and her 19-year-old brother moved to Leicester.
Muhammed said: “I loved my daughter too much, and she loved me too much.
“I have no tears left in my eyes because I have cried so much.”
Adding: “She used to call me and I used to call her.
“I used to ask her if she had eaten, if she had gone to school, and if everyone around her loved her.”
In a statement issued through police, the family said that their “world was torn apart”: “Words cannot describe the pain and loss we feel, we are devastated that we will not see our beautiful little girl again.
“We ask that you allow us to grieve in private and deal with our loss as a family.”
A spokesman for Drayton Manor said: “The terrible incident on Tuesday has left a family grieving and we continue to offer our deepest thoughts and condolences to the family and friends of Evha Jannath.”
Vice-chair of the Staffordshire Branch of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, Jonathan Hughes, said the HSE will be talking to staff, contractors and manufacturers of the ride to see how it operated, and will be looking at the history of maintenance records, inspections, and tests.
Six people came to pay their respects at Evha’s funeral on Tuesday (May 16).
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