Joy of Afghan Escape Short-Lived... 'Little Refugee Brothers' Die After Eating Poisonous Mushrooms

British and Turkish coalition forces and U.S. Marines stationed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, are lifting an Afghan child.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Refugee siblings who escaped from Kabul, Afghanistan, controlled by the Taliban, after great hardship, died one after another after eating poisonous mushrooms.

According to AP News and others on the 3rd (local time), the siblings who were staying at a refugee camp in the suburbs of Warsaw, Poland, following their parents on the 23rd of last month, ate poisonous mushrooms the next day and were transported to the hospital but ultimately died.

The five-year-old younger brother suffered brain damage and was declared dead on the 2nd, followed by the older brother, who was one year older, also confirmed to have severe brain damage and eventually passed away.

The 17-year-old sister also ate poisonous mushrooms and was hospitalized but has since been treated and discharged. Medical staff explained that the toxins in the mushrooms are more fatal to children than adults.

It is known that they made soup with mushrooms picked near the center.

The family had escaped Afghanistan with the Polish military after the Taliban took control of the entire country and had been staying at this refugee camp. Among them, the brothers' father is known to have been a collaborator with the British military.

Polish media raised suspicions that the refugee center provided inadequate meals, causing refugees to starve. Because of this, the family reportedly gathered mushrooms outside the camp.

However, authorities denied these claims. Mariusz Kami?ski, Poland's Minister of the Interior, stated, "This incident is a tragedy, but it is not due to negligence or fault of the center." Jakub Dudziak, spokesperson for the Polish Office for Foreigners, also explained, "Refugees are provided with three meals a day, and they were instructed not to eat wild mushrooms."

Currently, the Polish prosecution is investigating whether there was any negligence or fault on the part of the center.

Meanwhile, AP reported that the Polish Office for Foreigners announced that "four Afghan refugee men were hospitalized after eating poisonous mushrooms at another refugee center near Warsaw."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.