An 11-month-old infant died Friday after being scorched by steam from a leaking radiator in his family’s New York City apartment.
The Associated Press said that authorities arrived at the family’s Brooklyn home just after 6 a.m. and discovered the kid unconscious in a bedroom. He was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead.
According to The New York Times, the child’s mother told authorities that she was feeding her second child in another room when the boy entered the bedroom and was struck by the steam. It was unclear how long the radiator had been malfunctioning.
The cause of the leak is being investigated. According to the Times, the radiator was most recently tested in February 2023, and no faults were found.
Deaths from steam heat are uncommon in the city, according to the publication. In 2016, a similar tragedy occurred at a temporary flat for the homeless in the South Bronx, killing two little sisters, ages two and one.
Last June, the girls’ parents were awarded a $4.5 million settlement in connection with their deaths.