NAGAPATTINAM: As many as 60 “panicked” girl students of a government-aided school at Vedaranyam in the district were on Thursday hospitalised over suspected food poisoning. The students complained of health problems after consuming breakfast in the school hostel.
According to sources, students of Kasthuriba Gandhi Kaniya Gurukulam Girls Higher Secondary School were on Thursday served wheat upma and coconut chutney for breakfast. Some students complained of spotting something similar to a lizard’s tail in the food served, leaving other schoolgirls too in panic. Complaining of nausea and giddiness, over 20 of them vomited. The school staff rushed them to the Vedaranyam government general hospital, sources added.
Dr SM Murugappan, the Chief Medical Officer at the hospital, said, “We kept 38 students under observation for a few hours. The students were in a state of panic. After ensuring that they became stable, we discharged everyone.”
A team of officials inspected the school hostel kitchen. Officials, however, said there were no traces of a lizard having fallen in the food as was alleged by the students. Meanwhile, a health team set up makeshift beds for more students in the school.