At least thirty-seven children studying at a seminary in the village of Muslimabad, located in Khanpur tehsil, fell ill after consuming poisonous food.
According to sources, the affected children were rushed to the Khanpur THQ, while others were taken to DHQ hospital for medical attention. Doctors confirmed that their condition deteriorated due to ingesting a poisonous substance.
Rescue 1122 personnel promptly transported all the affected children to the hospital with the assistance of locals. Following the incident, both the police and Madrasa Arabia Sirajul Uloom administration collected food samples from the seminary's kitchen to investigate the cause of the poisoning.
It is suspected that an insect might have contaminated the food.
Sources also said local residents and seminary administration assisted in transferring the unconscious children to the main road before they were taken to the tehsil headquarters hospital. After receiving first aid, the children were later transferred to the trauma center in Haripur where their stomachs were washed to mitigate the effects of poisoning.
Local sources suggest that the incident occurred accidentally, likely due to some poisonous insects contaminating the food. However, the police have stated that the actual cause will be determined after a thorough investigation. They said the seminary administration is cooperating fully with the authorities during the investigation. Surprisingly, the parents of the affected children have decided not to pursue any legal action in this matter.
It is worth noting that the seminary provides free religious and contemporary education to underprivileged children in the region, and this unfortunate incident has been seen as an unintended occurrence.
The investigation into the cause of the food poisoning is still ongoing.
Meanwhile, WSSCA Chairman Board of Directors Zulfiqar Ahmed on Thursday visited the flood-affected areas of the city including Malikpura, Kunj Kehal, Sarban Chowk, and various other localities to assess the situation of accumulated water and cleanliness arrangements.
He was accompanied by Chief Sanitary Inspector Muhammad Thaqib. They assessed the situation of accumulated water at Sarban Chowk, Sina Laboratory Chowk, and Aaram Bagh Chowk and inspected the cleanliness arrangements.
He said that after the construction of the overhead bridge near Sarban Chowk by the National Highway Authority (NHA), the traffic system was affected due to the installation of walls in the middle of the road which has stopped water during recent rains.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 21st, 2023.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ