“Aunty…my body is burning...pour some water please,” Mahadi, an eight-year-old boy, was crying before he fainted on a bed of Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s burns unit yesterday evening.
The boy did not know that the flames they were playing with could be dangerous. In the afternoon with three playmates and cousins, he poured some kerosene on a pile of scrapped paper after they had set fire to it.
The flames exploded and burnt 67% of his body, including the respiratory system. The incident took place in Nayagao of the city’s Kamrangirchar area around 4:30pm. An hour later he was admitted to the burns unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
“Mahadi was playing near our house with three friends and cousins. The kids were trying to light up some scrap papers to get heat,” said Amirul, a cousin of Mahadi.
“The papers were making smoke. So Mahadi brought a kerosene jar from home and poured some on the pile. But the kerosene burst into flames and burnt him,” he said.
Mahadi studies in class four at Suchana Academy in the area. His father Md Habib went abroad six years ago and his mother Mukta Begum married again.
“My father gave shelter to Mahadi and his two younger brothers — Nehal and Mehedi,” said cousin Amirul.
Doctors at DMCH said they had no hope of the boy’s survival.
“He does not know that his injuries are that severe. He is looking for his parents and siblings,” said Amirul.
