A young boy was flown yesterday from Thessaloniki to Italy in a military transport plane so he could undergo emergency surgery to have his liver replaced after falling critically ill from eating poisonous mushrooms.

The 4-year-old had been in a Thessaloniki hospital since Friday but his condition was considered so serious that an urgent airlift involving a C-130 plane was set up so he could be taken to Palermo in Sicily for a transplant.

The boy started feeling unwell on Wednesday after eating some mushrooms that his father had picked near their home in Florina, northern Greece. The boy’s parents, originally from Albania, took him to the local hospital but doctors there did not have the necessary expertise to treat his condition.

Doctors believe the mushrooms that the boy ate were poisonous but they are due to issue an official statement today. They are also expected to give details about the boy’s condition after the transplant.