Fire Baby of Tamil Nadu Won't Stop Lighting Up

In a rare medical condition, a three-month old baby boy from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu keeps catching fire spontaneously. The bizarre incident has stunned local doctors, and spooked the villagers who blame paranormal forces for the phenomenon, local media report.

Rahul, second son of farmhands Karnan and Rajeshwari from Villupuram village, seemed as healthy and normal as any other baby at birth. But since then, the baby reportedly burst into flames at least four times, beginning when he was just nine days old.

In the latest incident, the baby suffered extensive burns and is being treated at Kilpauk Medical College hospital in Chennai, the state’s capital. According to Rahul's parents, each time the child caught fire spontaneously and there was no source of fire in the vicinity.

Doctors at KMC, where the baby was admitted Thursday, blame a rare medical condition called spontaneous human combustion, or SHC, for the infant’s predicament. Rahul catches fire repeatedly because his body emits combustible gas and fluids through skin pores, the doctors told the Times of India.

There is no cure for the condition, and the baby is currently being treated for extensive burn injuries at the hospital’s neonatal unit.

Read more at: International Business Times


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