An 18 month old baby, Rose Dyton, drowned in a 20 litre bucket of water which was almost three quarter full when she tried to drink from it.

The incident occurred on May 16 in the area of Traditional Authority Chilipa in Mangochi.

Mangochi Police Public Relations Officer, Sub inspector Amina Daudi said it was reported that her mother left the child in the custody of an elder sister who is 4-years as she went to fetch firewood a few metres away from the water.

“Dyton fell into the bucket when she tried to reach for water. Her sister followed her mother and reported the incident and together they rushed home to retrieve her daughter who was rushed to Chilipa health centre where death was pronounced upon arrival,” said Daudi.

She further said the matter was reported to Chilipa police unit who visited the scene of incident.

“Postmortem was conducted at the same hospital whose results revealed that the death was due to suffocation.

“Police in the district is appealing to parents and guardians never to leave young ones unattended of such tender age for they need parental care and close supervision,” said Daudi.

Rose Dyton hailed from Mpokosa Village, Traditional Authority Chilipa in Mangochi