Fire victim student dies of wounds five months after accident

ISTANBUL

DHA Photo

A 17-year-old student who was injured during a fire drill in a high school in the southeastern province of Bitlis last November died yesterday, daily Habertürk reported.

A controlled fire was started at a high school courtyard in Bitlis’ Ahlat district in November 2011 to teach students about fire-extinguishing methods. The fire had started to die down when one of the students, Onur Zeki Akgün, poured paint thinner on the flames to restart the fire, which resulted in a large flare-up that engulfed him.

The student, while on fire, hurled the thinner drum in panic, causing the fire to spread and engulf other pupils in the courtyard.

After receiving 50 percent burns to his body, Akgün was placed in intensive care, where he spent 130 days until he was transferred out of the emergency ward last week.

Akgün died when his heart stopped beating during a final surgery.