“The children were rushed to Araria district hospital around 9 pm on Wednesday after they started vomiting. Fortunately, most of the children are out of danger,” Hindustan Times quoted sub-divisional officer (SDO) Aniket Singh as saying. The SDO added that “some of them are still undergoing treatment while most of them have been discharged”.

The report said the students of Jitwar middle school, located at Godhi Tola in Araria, reported symptoms of headache, and stomach ache soon after leaving school. Around 8 pm they started vomiting. 

The situation escalated quickly and the number of students having the symptoms increased.

“Within a few minutes, over 50 children fell ill, triggering panic among villagers,” locals said. “Soon, we informed the local MP who talked to the civil surgeon and three ambulances were sent to the village to rush the sick children to the hospital.”

“All children are safe,” civil surgeon Vidhan Chandra Singh said. The civil surgeon confirmed it to be a case of food poisoning.

Meanwhile, school headmaster Abhinandan Rishidev said, “Out of 437 enrolled students, 227 were present on Wednesday and they were served ‘khichdi chokha’ in midday meal as per schedule.”

Refuting the allegations that the children fell ill because of the midday meal, the school headmaster alleged that all the sick children were from only one locality, and fell ill as they had eaten at a village feast.

The district education officer has ordered a probe into the matter.

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Published: 14 Mar 2024, 04:51 PM IST