TVC E. The tragedy of an 18-month-old boy happened in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State where a mother mistakenly replaced water with kerosene for her child to drink.
The deceased, identified as Israel Buhari, was said to have received the substance from his mother, a kerosene vendor, when he complained of thirst at about 10 am last Tuesday.
It was learnt that the little boy gulped the petroleum product, but spat out the rest of the content when it became unpalatable for him.
The mother, Mrs. Ata, was said to have realised that she had served her only son the wrong drink when he screamed in pain from the impact of the ingested substance.
It was gathered that neighbours, who were invited for help by his mother, offered the victim some palm oil before rushing him to a hospital where he died few hours later.
A source said, “Few minutes after ingesting the substance, the little child’s eyes turned pure white as he screamed uncontrollably.”
Kerosene sold by retailers is commonly stored in old beverage containers in several parts of the country.
Ata, who hails from Kogi State, said one of her children had filled the bottle with water, which they took to their store on the day the incident occurred.
But she added that she had mistakenly picked the one containing kerosene and given it to her child to quench his thirst.
