The 6 year old girl, named as Miss Semelia Campbell became trapped between a brick post and the wrought iron gate at around 7.30pm on Monday on the Lowry Estate in Moss Side, Manchester. Her Mother, Ms Judith Gilroy, watched on helplessly after the key fob she had failed to stop the gate moving and, although she also later switched off the electricity, she was unable to save her.
A police officer who rushed to the scene eventually managed to pull her out after he smashed the motor but she had already gone into cardiac arrest. She was rushed to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital but tragically she died a short time later.
Mrs Gilroy, who described her daughter as a beautiful and exceptional young girl revealed that Semelia had been playing with a friend when the accident happened. She said that “maybe she thought she could just get through it and it closed on her. It wouldn’t open and she just died. Living without her – I don’t see any point in living really.”
This is a tragic accident that should never have happened and the Health and Safety Executive has launched a joint investigation with Manchester Police to try and find out exactly what happened and why a young girl’s life was taken by faulty electrical equipment.