Heraklion: 18-month-old child dies after reportedly swallowing petrol in Crete

The incident

On Sunday evening, 15 November 2026, a young child from Nea Alikarnassos, a district of Heraklion on Crete, was reported to have swallowed an amount of petrol. An ambulance from EKAB, the national emergency medical service, took the child to the University General Hospital of Heraklion (PAGNI), where staff in the emergency department received it in critical condition. Most reports put the child at 18 months, while others gave an age of about one year or 1.5 years.

Hospital treatment

Doctors in the emergency department performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and initially brought the child back. The child was then intubated and moved to the paediatric intensive care unit, where its condition was described as extremely critical. Despite the continued efforts of the medical staff, the child died a short time later. Reports say both parents stood by throughout the attempts to save the child.

Hospital account

The deputy hospital commander, Stelios Ktenidakis, told Cretalive.gr that the medical staff made great efforts from the first moment to keep the child alive. Several Greek outlets reporting the death describe the same sequence of resuscitation, intubation and intensive care, and differ mainly on the child's age.

Open questions

The exact conditions in which the child came into contact with the petrol have not been established, and the reports do not say how the fuel was within the child's reach. Until those details are clarified, the cause of the ingestion remains unknown, and no further information about the circumstances has been published.