Bengaluru, Sep 29 (DHNS): Two boys died on Wednesday after mistaking sulphuric acid for an aerated drink and gulping it down.

Sahil Shankar (8) and Aryan Singh (9) were playing together when they saw a bottle with the acid. They assumed the bottle contained a cold drink and drank it.

It was Sahil’s birthday, and his father Shankar, a goldsmith, was hosting a party at their house on Kilari Road hear Chickpet.

Sahil’s family friends, including Sanjay Singh, his wife Anju and son Aryan, were among the invitees.

Aryan Singh

Sahil cut a cake and the party went off well. Around 9 pm, Sahil and Aryan went into a room where Shankar had stored sulphuric acid in a bottle. Goldsmiths use the acid to clean ornaments.

The boys mistook it for a cold drink and gulped it down. They collapsed in extreme pain.

Their parents rushed them to a private hospital and later to Victoria Hospital. Doctors declared the boys brought dead.

Sahil was a Class III student, while Aryan was one class higher.