1-Year-Old Baby Drowns In Bucket Of Water While Mother Was Taking Bath

A 1-year-old baby died by drowning in a bucket of water while playing with other children at her home.

The tragic incident took place Friday in Omaambo village in Omusati, Namibia. Authorities told local media the child's mother was taking a bath, and when she came out, she found the child had drowned. Her body was found in the bucket in which the family washed dishes.

“Exact circumstances leading to the drowning are not clear, as the incident was only discovered by the mother after bathing when she was told by the other kids that they don’t know where the deceased was, prompting her to start searching for her,” senior police officer Titus Shikongo told the New Era Live.

It remains unclear if another adult was caring for the children while the mother was taking a bath and if any charges will be filed in the case.

The victim has been identified as Fransina Iita. The police said Iita's body was taken to the Okahao police mortuary for an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. An investigation is underway into the incident.

Last month, an 8-week-old baby died after drowning in a bathtub in Sydney, Australia. The mother of the child was taken into custody in connection with the death. The police said at the time the father of the baby came home and found his daughter lying unresponsive in the bathtub. Emergency services were called and the infant was rushed to a hospital where she died a short time later.

In November last year, a 5-day-old baby in Zambia died choking on breast milk after his mother allegedly fell asleep while feeding the baby. The child's mother, identified as Rose Mugala, told the police at the time she woke up two hours later and found the child unresponsive with milk oozing through his nostril. "Fact of the matter is that Rose started breastfeeding her baby on Nov. 25 around 5 p.m. on her bed but fell asleep and woke up around 7 p.m. only to find her child dead with the breast still in the child’s mouth and breast milk oozing through the nostril," Zambia Police Deputy Spokesperson Danny Mwale told local news outlet Mwebantu at the time. The police did not find any injury on the baby's body.