• The child thought a bottle of drain cleaner was milk and drank it by mistake

• He suffered severe injuries to his mouth and airway, losing half of his tongue

A 13-month-old boy in the UK suffered serious injuries after accidentally drinking drain cleaner, thinking it was milk.

According to British media, the incident happened in May when little Sam Anwar slipped behind his mother while she was cleaning the bathroom and grabbed a white bottle of caustic soda that had been left on the floor.

Within seconds, the corrosive liquid burned his lips, tongue, mouth, and airway, leaving him fighting for his life.

Sam was rushed to Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital, where the damage continued to worsen, and he went into cardiac arrest in the emergency department.

His father, 37-year-old warehouse worker Nadeen Alshameri, watched as doctors fought to save his son.

“He thought it was milk. By the time we realized what had happened, it was already burning him. At the hospital, it was burning his mouth and airway. He can’t speak now. The doctors said they had never seen a case like this before,” he said.

The injuries were so severe that Sam lost half of his tongue and could not eat, drink, or swallow.

Initially, he was fed through a tube in his nose, but as his condition changed, doctors had to insert a permanent feeding tube directly into his stomach.

Internal scarring in his mouth has tightened severely, leaving only a tiny opening for food or liquid.

Doctors are unable to fully examine his mouth without surgery.

Specialists described the case as one of the most serious they have ever seen in such a young child, with some calling his survival “one in a million.”

Sam is now 18 months old and back home, but his life remains far from normal. He relies entirely on the feeding tube and still cannot speak.

His father says he is awaiting urgent reconstructive surgery to repair the internal burns and reopen his mouth.