Tiruppur: Three children, all between ages 8 and 13, died and 11 others are undergoing treatment in the government hospital following suspected food poisoning at a home for the destitute in Tamil Nadu's Tiruppur district on Thursday, officials said. The boys had rice mixed with 'rasam' and laddu for dinner on Wednesday. Some of them vomited and had dysentery.
Police said some of the children fell sick soon after having dinner. The warden at the home had taken them to a nearby dispensary and brought them back after first-aid. On Thursday morning, some did not turn up for breakfast. When the home authorities checked on them, they were so weak and they called for help from the local hospital and had them checked.
Officials said the doctors who came declared two of the children as dead at the home. One of them was critical and was admitted to a nearby private hospital where he later succumbed to the illness. All three bodies were moved to a government hospital in Tiruppur for post-mortem examination and a case has been registered by the Tiruppur Police.
Meanwhile, the condition of those who had breakfast began to deteriorate and some fell unconscious. All of them were admitted to a private hospital and were later shifted to government hospitals in Tiruppur and Avinashi for further treatment, they said. Three of those admitted were critical and were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the respective hospitals.
Tiruppur District Collector S Vineeth, who visited the governments hospitals, said the samples were collected and sent for examination, following preliminary reports of food poisoning. Stringent action will be taken against the home -- Sri Vivekananda Home For Destitute -- if found guilty after the inquiry, he said. Police are investigating and inquiring the persons running the home.
