Chennai: A 15-year-old boy died of burns in the Chengalpet Government hospital late on Thursday night after he tried to imitate professional fire breathers. The incident happened when Jebin, a Class 10 student in Chennai, attempted to mimic the stunts performed by fire breathers.

Jebin Sham, a resident of Lyancherry, was alone at home at the time of incident. His father John Wilson works in at a star hotel in Meenambakkam, Chennai, and his mother is a teacher in a government school in Chengalpet.

Jebin took a mouthful of kerosene and spat it onto the flame, so it would flare up the way he had seen the performers doing. However, without safety measures, some amount of kerosene fell on Jebin’s clothes and in the process, he caught fire. Jebin then ran out of his house crying for help. His neighbours extinguished the fire using water and banana leaves and called an ambulance to take him to the nearby hospital and also alerted his parents.

Jebin was admitted in Chengalpet Government Hospital and was taking necessary treatment for the burns. Jebin died a few hours later as he failed to respond to the medical procedure.