Two Children Died After Eating Soup Made From Poisonous Mushrooms

Two young brothers who were evacuated from Kabul has died in Poland after eating poisonous mushrooms that their family had picked from an area near the refugee centre.

The deceased children, a 6-year-old and a 5-year-old were part of an Afghan family who were evacuated from Kabul by Polish authorities and taken to a refugee centre in the town of Podkowa Lesna near Warsaw.

The two boys arrived in Poland with their family on August 23 after the Taliban takeover.

A statement from the hospital said the children ate the mushrooms the day after they arrived.

According to Polish media, the boys' family made soup from the mushrooms they had picked from a forested area near the centre.

A total of five people had required medical assistance for stomach problems, the Office for Foreigners, which runs migrant centres in Poland, said.

However, they were not initially aware that the family had eaten mushrooms.

The brothers and their 17-year-old sister were taken to hospital on August 26 and 27.

The 5-year-old boy was pronounced dead on Thursday, Sept.2. Doctors said the 6-year-old had a liver transplant but his condition did not seem favourable as he had displayed signs of severe brain damage.

On Friday, doctors confirmed the death of the older brother. The sister was later discharged.

"Unfortunately, we were unable to help both boys," the hospital's director, Dr Marek Migdal, said.

Prosecutors have said the poisonings are under investigation.

Local media had previously reported that the refugees were picking the mushrooms and eating them because they didn't have enough food. But the local officials have denied the allegation.

Jakub Dudziak, a spokesman for the Office for Foreigners, which is dealing with Afghan evacuees in Poland, said everyone is given "three meals a day," and that refugees were also instructed not to eat wild mushrooms.

"In connection with this unfortunate accident, employees of centres for foreigners will sensitise Afghan citizens not to consume products of unknown origin," Dudziak said.

According to experts, more than 250 species of mushroom found in the Polish forests are poisonous, including some that are deadly.

The boys' father has served several years in the British army. After the Taliban takeover, the family was evacuated by the Polish military at Britain's request.