Search icon

News

04th Sep 2021

5-year-old Afghan refugee dies in Poland after eating mushrooms

Laura Grainger

His sister and brother were also hospitalised.

A five-year-old boy who was recently evacuated from Kabul has tragically died in Poland after eating poisonous mushrooms.

Several family members also ate the mushrooms, with the boy’s six-year-old brother now in critical condition at the Children’s Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw.

The boys and their 17-year-old sister were admitted to the hospital last week after the family picked the death cap mushrooms in a forest around the refugee centre where they were staying.

The death cap, which is among the world’s most poisonous mushrooms, can be mistaken for Poland’s edible parasol mushroom due to similarities in appearance.

The six-year-old underwent a successful liver transplant after he was poisoned, but suffered significant and life-threatening damage to his brain.

The teenager was later released in good condition.

Doctors said the children’s parents were receiving psychological care at the hospital, according to Sky News.

Poland’s Office for Foreigners said a similar incident took place at another refugee centre in the country, during which four Afghan men were also hospitalised from eating poisonous mushrooms.