UK girl 'drinks detergent'
Tuesday, 05 Feb 2008 13:27
Two-year-old British girl in critical condition after drinking orange juice laced with detergent
A British toddler is in intensive care after drinking orange juice accidentally mixed with detergent while on holiday with her parents in Cyprus.
The two-year-old, who has been named as Annabel Rhodes by local police, was given the drink by a barman at a hotel in Limassol on the island's southern coast.
Police said Annabel was in a critical but stable connection in Nicosia's Makarios hospital children's ward.
Her father, 55-year-old Mark Rhodes, and her mother, who has not been named, are both by her bedside, a statement added.
The toddler suffered burns to her oesophagus after being given the fruit juice laced with cleaning fluid on Saturday.
Mr Rhodes was also briefly treated in hospital after drinking from the same glass.
"The police are investigating this case," said a Limassol police spokesperson.
"The little girl is in the Makarios hospital in Nicosia. She is serious. Nobody has been arrested until now.
"Her father asked the 43-year-old man to put water in a glass of orange juice at 18:45 on Saturday.
"But instead he put something else, some cleaning fluid."
A Rhodes family spokesman added: "This is a very emotional time for them and an intensely personal matter.
"They would like their privacy respected."
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was providing consular assistance to the family but could not confirm any details.