7-year-old Utah boy, who was playing with matches, dies when his clothes catch fire

A 7-year-old Utah boy died from burns he suffered when he and a friend were playing with matches.

According to Salt Lake City police, the 7-year-old and his 9-year old friend were lighting matches and using an accelerant in an alley near Gillespie Avenue and Navajo Street, in the city’s Poplar Grove neighborhood, shortly after 6 p.m. on Saturday. The 7-year-old boy’s clothes ignited. A neighbor extinguished the flames with a blanket, but the boy was burned over a large part of his body.

The 9-year-old was not injured.

Police are continuing to investigate the boy’s death, which they called a “tragic accident.”