5-Year-Old Boy Evacuated From Afghanistan Dies After Eating Death Cap Mushroom; Brother Critical

A five-year-old Afghan evacuee has died after consuming poisonous death cap mushrooms found near a refugee center in Poland. His six-year-old brother, who also ate the mushrooms, remains in critical condition after a liver transplant.

The family was staying in Podkowa Leśna, near Warsaw, after being recently evacuated from Kabul, The Guardian reported.

While the older brother successfully underwent a liver transplant at the Centre for Children’s Health Institute in Warsaw, doctors said the damage to his brain was significant and life-threatening.

"Unfortunately, we were unable to help both boys," the hospital's director, Dr. Marek Migdal, was quoted as saying by BBC on Thursday. Talking about the 5-year-old boy, Migdal said: "He had suffered irreversible brain damage and was unable to have a liver transplant, unlike his brother."

Reports said the boys and their older sister fell ill last week after they consumed a soup made with death cap mushrooms. The boys’ 17-year-old sister has been released in good condition. The family too is at the hospital, under psychological care. Other family members have also been hospitalized elsewhere but are now recovering.

The father of the children had worked for the British and was evacuated last month by Poland at Britain's request post the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the poisoning incident. Meanwhile, local officials denied reports that the refugees were not given enough food due to which they picked and ate the mushrooms.

Jakub Dudziak, a spokesman for the Office for Foreigners, which is dealing with Afghan evacuees in Poland, said that the evacuees are given "three meals a day." He added that authorities warned Afghan citizens not to eat wild mushrooms.

A similar incident was reported at another center near Warsaw that saw four Afghan men hospitalized after eating poisonous mushrooms. While the three remain in hospital, the condition of one has improved and the person has left the hospital.

There are over 250 poisonous species of fungi in the country, some of which can be deadly. Death cap mushrooms are one of the most poisonous varieties but closely resemble the local edible parasol mushroom.

Over 1,000 Afghans, who worked for NATO, were evacuated by Poland recently. While the country will take in most of the evacuees, others evacuated by Polish troops on behalf of third countries or international organizations will go elsewhere.