A two-year-old girl, Aariya Sewnarian, is in critical condition after falling from a balcony at a crèche in Chatsworth, KwaZulu-Natal. She is receiving treatment in a high-care unit at a Durban hospital after suffering a fractured skull, internal bleeding, and undergoing emergency surgery.
According to her father, Atholl Brett Sewnarain, Aariya had been attending Day Care for two months. On March 6, her mother received a call from the crèche principal, initially stating that Aariya had fallen on concrete while playing. A follow-up call suggested the fall resulted from a fight between two children.
However, Sewnarain disputes these claims, alleging that CCTV footage showed his daughter was left unsupervised on a first-floor balcony before falling several meters to the ground. An informant further claimed that the crèche deleted the footage to conceal negligence, though this has not been verified.
Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) did not attend the scene, and all information was provided by the child's father. The incident has raised concerns about safety and supervision at the facility.