Baby girl's head catches flames as her cot is set on fire after mom leaves heater switched on all night
A ten-month-old girl is fighting for her life with horrific burns after her cot caught fire by a heater her mother left on all night in her room. The baby girl, identified as Anna, was reportedly found with her head in flames by her mother Viktoria around 4 am on Wednesday, December 16, in the city of Zaporizhia, Ukraine. The child was rushed to the hospital, where she was admitted with severe burns to her head and acute carbon monoxide poisoning.
The mother, while speaking to reporters, said that she woke up and ran to look for her daughter after she heard her crying. "I woke up and rushed to Anna after hearing her crying. The pillow under her head was burning. I snatched her out of the fire and called emergency services," she said. The baby girl was reportedly taken to the hospital in critical condition and doctors have said that the infant is currently battling for her life.
The little girl's parents reportedly managed to put out the blaze which was caused by an electrical heater left on in her room all night next to the cot. According to experts, the device caught fire following an electrical short circuit and later set alight Anna's bed too. Zlata Nekrasova, a charity volunteer who assisted the family, reportedly told the media: "The girl received serious burns to her face and head. She suffered from acute carbon monoxide intoxication and is undergoing oxygen therapy." Doctors from Zaporizhia Center of Emergency Medicine also released a statement on the girl's condition, saying that the child may suffer life-threatening complications.
The mother said that she had moved the baby's cot into the kitchen after she had discovered mildew on a wall in the baby's bedroom. "We wanted Anna to sleep in the kitchen until we removed mildew from our bedroom," Viktoria said. "We left the heater on to keep her warm.” Doctors said that the little girl now would require multiple skin grafting surgeries and long-term rehabilitation.
In another unrelated case, a British mother, in August this year, attempted to kill herself after finding her baby dead in his cot at a hotel in the town of Argyrades, on the Greek island of Corfu. The 30-year-old mother was saved by hotel staff. The four-month-old toddler reportedly died after the mother, whose identity has not been revealed, left him alone overnight with a bottle of milk. The mother had put her baby to bed with the bottle in his cot to suck on as he fell asleep. However, the next morning, around 7.30 am, the mother found her child unresponsive. Her child’s condition left her concerned and she called the hotel staff who then called a doctor. After examining the toddler, the doctor said the baby died overnight, “probably from drowning".
Soon after hearing the devastating news, the woman attempted to leap from the hotel room balcony but was saved in time by the staff. Local media reports claimed that she has since been shifted to a hospital where she is being given psychological support. The result of a full forensic examination into the infant’s death is awaited.