A four-year-old boy named Alan, who went missing on October 8, was found dead in a water-filled pit at a construction site in Kokshetau, infohub.kz reports.
His mother had brought him to work because she had no one to leave him with. The child slipped outside unnoticed and disappeared. She searched the building and then called for help. Rescuers and volunteers who arrived hoped the boy had simply wandered off and fallen asleep somewhere inside. However, surveillance cameras showed he had gone outside and headed toward an adjacent area where construction was underway.
"Most of the construction site is covered in concrete. Since it was already dark, you couldn't see that there was a septic tank pit in that concrete. It looked like just a puddle. Together with volunteers, we walked past that puddle several times. One of our volunteers nearly fell in himself. But the thought that a child could fall in there never even crossed our minds," volunteer Oksana Daronina said.
According to the TV channel, it was Alan's mother's first day at work. She had been hired as a cleaner at a manufacturing facility but planned to train as a specialist. The woman was raising her son alone and brought him along because there was no one to leave him with.
The gates of the construction site where the boy was found were open.
"During the search operation, the child was found in an open well. According to preliminary data, there are no signs of violent death. A criminal case has been opened. The circumstances of the incident are being investigated," said Asem Abdrakhmanova, senior inspector for special assignments of the Information Policy Department of the Akmola Region Police Department.
Volunteers said they knew Alan's family well and had previously provided financial assistance to his mother. On the morning of October 9, activists announced a fundraiser for the boy's funeral. Concerned city residents raised the necessary amount within a few hours.