– A child who swallowed a discarded button battery used for wrist watches had died after two days despite being treated at the Galle national hospital.

The deceased Nehan Thaksara De Silva (07) of Batawala in Weligama was a Grade three student of Thalaramba Indasara Vidyalaya.

The inquest was held by the Hospital Coroner Chandrasena Lokuge at the hospital. Testifying at the inquiry the child’s father stated that the deceased was his younger son and that he had picked up a used wrist watch battery and swallowed it. He said a doctor who examined the child had wanted him to get an X-Ray of the child’s abdomen and when the child was taken to a private hospital the doctor who examined the X-Ray advised him to admit the child to the Matara general hospital from where he was transferred to the Karapitiya National Hospital.

“ At the hospital the battery was removed from the stomach and after providing further treatment for two days he was discharged. However, he complained to back pain and on April (28) when he was preparing to attend school he complained of stomach ache and head ache. However the child had been sent to school. At about 8.30 he had received a call from the school saying that the child was vomiting blood. The child had been immediately rushed to the Karapitiya hospital where the performed an endoscopy test, but the child had not regained consciousness. The child had then been admitted to the Intensive Care unit and the following day undergone surgery. However the child had died on Sunday evening.

The JMO Karapitiya Hospital U.D.A.Disanayake who held the postmortem examination reported that the death was due to an internal hemorrhage caused by damage to the great vein in the lower intestine.