US baby dies after eating packet of detergent

Washington, Aug 18 - A 7-month-old US baby has died after swallowing candy-coloured liquid detergent from a packet that his mother accidentally left on the bed while the child was sleeping. The baby boy was a resident at a battered women's shelter in Kissimmee, Florida, that hands out laundry detergent packets individually to residents, police said. ÒThe mother took the laundry detergent packets, put them in the laundry basket, which was on the bed, and the child was sleeping on the bed,Ó police spokesperson Stacie Miller told ABCNews.com. Miller said the mother left the room for a brief moment, and when she came back, she discovered that the child was eating the laundry detergent packet. The child was rushed to the hospital where he died. The incident took place earlier this month. The baby's autopsy results are still pending, however, officials at the Department of Children and Families (DCF) believe that ingesting the laundry pods was the cause of the death. ÒThe death of little Michael is a tragedy. It reminds all of us as parents the dangers of leaving household cleaning supplies around our little ones,Ó DCF said in a statement.