Container linked to school poisonings
Source: Agencies |
July 20, 2013, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
INDIAN police suspect that India's worst outbreak of mass food poisoning in years was caused by cooking oil that had been kept in a container previously used to store pesticide, the magistrate overseeing the investigation said yesterday.
Health officials in the eastern state of Bihar were expected to release autopsy results for many of the 23 schoolchildren who died on Tuesday after vomiting and convulsing with agonizing stomach cramps.
The children fell ill within minutes after eating a lunch provided by their school in the village of Gandaman. The free meals are part of a national scheme aimed at tackling malnutrition and encouraging children to attend school.
"Circumstantial evidence suggests that cooking oil was kept in a container which was previously used to store pesticides or insecticides," said Abhijit Sinha, district magistrate of Saran district. Gandaman is in Saran district.
"At the moment we cannot say whether it was deliberate or it was pure negligence," he said, adding that police were searching for the headmistress of the school.
He said forensic tests were being conducted on the mustard oil container, uneaten food and utensils to determine the cause of the poisoning.
It is not yet clear where the headmistress bought the food for the meals, cooked at a makeshift kitchen outside the school. Police said she left the village on Tuesday with her husband.
Health officials in the eastern state of Bihar were expected to release autopsy results for many of the 23 schoolchildren who died on Tuesday after vomiting and convulsing with agonizing stomach cramps.
The children fell ill within minutes after eating a lunch provided by their school in the village of Gandaman. The free meals are part of a national scheme aimed at tackling malnutrition and encouraging children to attend school.
"Circumstantial evidence suggests that cooking oil was kept in a container which was previously used to store pesticides or insecticides," said Abhijit Sinha, district magistrate of Saran district. Gandaman is in Saran district.
"At the moment we cannot say whether it was deliberate or it was pure negligence," he said, adding that police were searching for the headmistress of the school.
He said forensic tests were being conducted on the mustard oil container, uneaten food and utensils to determine the cause of the poisoning.
It is not yet clear where the headmistress bought the food for the meals, cooked at a makeshift kitchen outside the school. Police said she left the village on Tuesday with her husband.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
