14 DAY TRIAL // 22 children have died as a result of poisoning after eating a school provided meal in India, the Sun writes.
According to the Guardian, the students were offered free meals which were contaminated with pesticides.
Officials believe that they contain rat poisoning in high amounts. The incident took place in the state of Bihar on Tuesday, July 16.
“It looks like a case of contaminated food. We're hoping to get the forensic results by today to be able to ascertain the reason why the food got contaminated,” HRD Minister Pallam Raju said in a press statement relayed by IBN.
51 people ate the meals, and 27 of them are currently hospitalized and they are fighting for their lives. 20 children died on the same day on which they ingested the poisoned meals..
“As soon as my son returned from school we rushed to the hospital with him. His condition was not good. He was vomiting and said his stomach was paining,” one parents describes.
Two more students died in the hospital, as did the cook that prepared the food. The kids started vomiting as soon as they begun to eat, at which point authorities were alerted.
“The doctors did their best to save the children but there was so much poison in their food that the doctors couldn't save them all,” says Abhijeet Sinha, the district magistrate.
Officials trace the contamination to pesticides used on rice and wheat crops, which were produced locally.
“This is an example where we should exercise more caution in dealing with mid day meals. We're hoping others will pick up from this sad example,” Raju adds.
Officials are under fire failing to provide medical assistance to the children in due time. Riots have been prompted in the area, with parents deposing the lifeless bodies of their sons and daughters in front of the school.
“It was sheer callousness on the part of the officials. They wasted much time before shifting the kids to the hospitals, and necessary medicines were not available,” resident Ram Bachan Rai accuses.