Aluminium phosphide for a neighbouring apartment killed three-year old Habiba in Sharjah, and not food poisoning as was earlier suspected.
In a case that rocked the emirate and raised the issue of whether food poisoning was an easy-blame option, the child and her 6-year old brother Egyptian were admitted to hospital with vomiting and dehydration.
While Habiba died, her brother, Abdul Rahman survived, though he is still in hospital.
Al Itttihad newspaper, quoting the Sharjah Police forensic report, said that the child died due to poisoning from the leakage of a toxic gas from a neighbouring apartment.
The report showed an absence of any bacterial contamination in the food eaten by the two children in the period before they fell ill.
The report was also discussed at a meeting at the hospital, attended by the police and municipality.
The report stressed that acute poisoning was due to the aluminum phosphide gas and was not the food poisoning.
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