A 22-month-old girl was burned severely after being served with detergent instead of a fruit juice at a posh restaurant in Pornic, Loire-Atlantique, the gendarmes said Monday.
Thursday noon, "a girl has swallowed detergent, believing it was apple juice," said the gendarmes of Loire-Atlantique, confirming information from Ouest-France .
"An employee who had put detergent in a container used for drinks, left him on the counter, one of his colleagues believing he had forgotten, put it back in the fridge and it was served to customers, "said the gendarmes.
The child immersed in an artificial coma
The girl was transported to the University Hospital of Nantes the same day, because of pain in the stomach and esophagus. According to her father, if the girl "is no longer between life and death", she is kept in a state of artificial coma and "risk losing her esophagus".
His parents, who tasted the drink to understand why their daughter was in this state, were also intoxicated, according to the police. "I thought it was alcohol, tasting, I burned my lips, my wife has almost swallowed," says the father in the columns of the regional daily.
A complaint was lodged by the parents, who mentioned in Ouest-France a "serious negligence" of the establishment, and an investigation was opened by the parquet of Nantes.
The establishment "collapsed by this accident"
In messages posted on his Facebook page, the establishment "La Fontaine aux Bretons" says "collapsed by this accident". He claims to have "initiated (..) in all the teams - restaurant / residence / gardens - a complete overhaul of (his) security procedures".
"A succession of actions, of different people, during a sustained service, is certainly at the origin of the tragedy that led to the use of the dishwasher product (identical to that found in all restaurants) to the place of our homemade fruit juice We collaborate with the gendarmerie who will establish the exact circumstances, "continues the establishment.