A 33-year-old mother died in hospital 10 days after suffering horrific burns when she tried to fry an egg.
The horror unfolded when Elisângela Oliveira de Jesus, a mother of one child, heated oil in a frying pan while breaking an egg into a glass to check that it had not gone bad.
In what turned out to be a fatal mistake, she didn’t notice that the glass had water in it. When she emptied it into the pan, a huge flame shot up into her face and burned her T-shirt and nursing bra.
She was taken to a local hospital near São Paulo, Brazil, on February 16, before later being transferred to a burn unit.
The surgery was scheduled for Monday, but she died of cardiac arrest shortly before the operation could be performed and was buried later that day.
She leaves behind her husband and a one-year-old daughter. Good Samaritans have been trying to raise funds to help support them financially.
Adding water to hot oil, even in small amounts, can be catastrophic and lead to a massive fire.
“Water is a very dangerous liquid for frying. When water comes into contact with very hot oil, reaching 175°C, it instantly vaporizes and becomes superheated steam. It expands rapidly, which can cause oil splatters and risk of bodily injury,” says the US government’s food safety department.
Fires caused by water entering the oil should not be extinguished with water or a wet towel, as this will only make the fire worse. Instead, turn off the heat source and cover the flames with a metal lid.
– Jam press
Do you have any tips for telling a story? Email: [email protected].
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Twitter and Youtube.