THE WORLD
Updated Sunday, February 4, 2024-19:58
Rhys Millum, an 8-year-old boy from Harrogate (England) died in 2022 after
swallowing ten magnetic balls
that
caused a perforated intestine
.
According to the BBC, two days before dying, on October 2, 2022, the child had complained of
stomach pains
. His mother took him to the hospital, where they ruled he had an infection and sent him home.
The child tried to eat throughout the day, but vomited what he ate. At the weekend his father picked him up and planned a few "quiet days" to watch movies while Rhys
got over his illness.
However, on Sunday his symptoms worsened and he was taken to the hospital.
That night, Rhys told his father that he
"couldn't see"
and then lost consciousness. They tried to revive him for almost an hour while he went into cardiac arrest but he died.
A post morten examination revealed that Rhys had ingested
10 magnetic toys
about 3mm in diameter and were attached to each other. His intestine had been blocked and perforated, ultimately causing his death.
Following the subsequent inquest, Northallerton Coroner's Court has just ruled that it was an unintentional death resulting from terrible bad luck. Coroner Catherine Cundy said: "I understand that magnetic balls are available and legal, but I hope the tragedy of Rhys' death
highlights the danger of such objects
, particularly to young children who may swallow them."
The magnetic balls
had been a gift
that Rhys and his brother had been playing with without problems for a month. The boy never told his parents that he had swallowed the magnets. Police investigated the possibility that he may have been participating in a
"TikTok piercing challenge
," which involved placing magnetic balls on either side of the cheek to mimic a piercing, but found no evidence of this.