This is truly a sad story coming out of India. First catching fire at just 9 days old, Rahul has suffered third degree burns as doctors struggle to find the source of this mystery.

Rahul, just 3 months old now, has caught fire 4 times since his young life started and may be the victim of spontaneous human combustion (SHC). This is the strange effect when human beings combust without warning. We’ve reported on this phenomena several times here at GT, but none has been more heartbreaking as what this innocent baby boy is enduring as we speak.

For those of you who aren’t aware of what Spontaneous Human Combustion is all about, don’t worry as there is nothing more than theory out there at this time. While that means you aren’t missing a whole lot in the way of cause, it also means that doctors are no closer to stopping baby Rahul from combusting.

That said, this is the basic outline:

There have been approx 200 cases reported as far as record keeping is concerned. These incidents seem to occur without any known external source of flame. Some theorists claim that methane or alcohol may be releasing through the pores and ignition is resulting from some sort of static charge. Other theories include cigarette used with minimal water consumption as well as just falling asleep while smoking. Victims are often found with the torso completely burned up while extremities are left in tact. Some claim the bodies burn very quickly, while others say it’s a slow developing process whereby fat deposits burn like candle wax. To get more on this try the Wiki….. The theory I find to be most appealing is by Cambridge Prof Brian J Ford, who speculates that the bodies production of acetone may be the culprit (See Associated Content).

Getting back to little Rahul, doctors at the Chennai, India hospital suspect the boys sweat may play a role. Unfortunately they are no closer to an answer than what we’ve already established in theory.

While I’ve never heard of an ‘official case’ of SHC being witnessed as it happens, this case may lead doctors closer to the cause and cure of this horrific phenomenon.

I will pray for baby Rahul and hope that the answer comes to fruition very soon so that he never has to deal with this fear and pain again.

Added Note: My biggest concern was that some “person” made this up to get some viral attention. Now we find that it could be something even worse as poor Rahul’s parents may be the alleged culrits. Thanks to reader Necromig for providing this updated link. Read about it here. This is getting sadder by the minute.

The following sources were helpful in content development of this story:

Weird Asian News
whatsontianjin

Associated Content:

GT: Spontaneous Human Combustion: Has The Mystery Been Solved?
GT: Friday Video: Inside Spontaneous Human Combustion
GT: The Man with the Flaming Hands