SUKKUR: At least four children died while 25 others fell unconscious after consuming what authorities claim to be ‘poisonous’ food.
According to initial reports by witnesses and doctors, around 30 villagers in total were affected and were rushed to Naukot hospital after eating ‘biryani and kheer’ on Friday at a soyem in Tharparkar’s Bachal Soomro village.
Doctors there pronounced four children dead, two of whom were said to be approximately a year-and-a-half and 12 years old. Others, who had fainted and according to doctors were “critically ill” were taken to hospitals in Tharparkar and Mirpur Khas.
According to the hospital sources, the attendants who brought the patients to the hospital had told him that they had consumed some biryani and kheer before falling ill. Due to the death of the four children, the doctors said that the food must be investigated for traces of “poison”.
Meanwhile, the police said that an investigation is underway and they had collected samples of the said food for testing. Earlier, two young girls after eating some poisonous substance admitted to the Peoples Medical University Hospital died during treatment.
A seven-year-old Azeema, 7, and an eight-year-old Rukhsana were among four children who were rushed to the hospital from a village near Shahpur Chakar town in a critical condition.
The doctors who examined them believed that they had eaten some poisonous substance. They said they tried their best to save their lives but the two girls died during treatment, while the two other children, Gul Khatoon and Dost Ali, of the same age group, were under treatment.
