1-Year-Old Baby Chokes To Death After Gooseberry Gets Stuck In His Throat

A 1-year-old boy in India reportedly choked to death after a gooseberry got stuck in his throat.

The incident took place Thursday in the southern state of Kerala. The baby, identified by his first name Namas, choked Wednesday evening when he was having his food, media outlet Kerala Kaumudi reported.

The toddler reportedly consumed the gooseberry without telling his mother. As the mother was unaware of the gooseberry in his mouth, she continued to feed him. The fruit got stuck in the child’s throat along with the food and interrupted his breathing, local media reported.

The child's mother and other family members tried to clear the gooseberry from the boy’s throat, but failed. They later rushed the toddler to a government-run medical college.

The doctors removed the gooseberry from the child's throat, but the baby was still suffering from breathing issues. The child was declared dead Thursday morning.

Pediatric surgery associate professor Dr. Bijohn Johnson confirmed the child died of suffocation as the gooseberry got stuck in his throat, according to Mathrubhumi.

“His condition was critical when the family took him to the medical college,” he said, adding administering proper first aid will save kids in such situations.

Choking is the fourth leading cause of unintentional injury death in the U.S. It is one of the leading causes of unintentional death for infants, who require a different rescue procedure than adults, according to National Safety Council. Clear the airway, and do the following if the infant cannot cry, cough or breathe:

• Support the infant face down by holding the head in one hand with the torso on your forearm against your thigh
• Give up to five back slaps between the shoulder blades with the heel of your other hand
• If the object is not expelled, roll the infant face up, supporting the back of the infant's head with your hand
• Place two fingers on the breastbone just below the nipple line
• Give five chest thrusts about one per second, about 1 ½ inches deep
• Continue cycles of five back slaps and five chest thrusts until the object is expelled or the infant becomes unresponsive
• If the infant becomes unresponsive or is found unresponsive, begin CPR