India School Meal Results in Death of 22 Children Aged 5-12
At least 22 children in India died this week after eating a free school lunch that was laced with insecticide.
Indian officials are investigating how insecticides ended up in food that was served to students as part of a free lunch program. The children, aged 5-12, attended a small village school in the Eastern state of Bihar.
The typically healthy meal consisted of potatoes, soybeans, rice and lentils. But Tuesday afternoon, students who had consumed the lunch complained of stomach cramps and began vomiting officials said according to the Los Angeles Times. Preliminary laboratory results later revealed that the food contained an organophosphate used as an insecticide.
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One 11-year-old girl who was lucky enough to survive the incident says she only remembers eating the meal.
"I don't know what happened after that," Savita told The Associated Press at Patna Medical College Hospital.
In addition to the 22 children who died, 26 other children were hospitalized. So far, ten children in the hospital still remain in serious condition. Villagers told the AP that the problem appeared to be with the soybeans and potatoes. Children who did not eat the side dish were fine.
It is still unclear whether the food poisoning was an accident or not.
"Whether it was a case of negligence or was intentional, we will only know once the inquiry has been conducted," state official Abhijit Sinha told the AP.
The lunches were apart of a government funded program aimed at giving impoverished children in India at least one hot meal a day. The program servers over 120 million children across the country and has become one of the world's largest nutrition efforts.
The poisonings prompted violent protests in Gandamal, the village where the school is located, with many demonstrators setting fire to vehicles nearby.
