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4 children dead, 24 hospitalised due to alleged food poisoning at Andhra orphanage
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock over the incident and asked Anakapalli district collector to submit a detailed report on the cause of the tragedy
Four children died and 24 others hospitalised due to suspected food poisoning at an orphanage run by a minority organisation at Kailasapatnam village of Kotauratla block in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli district on Monday morning, officials said.
The deceased children have been identified as Jashuva, Bhavani, Nitya and Shradha, all in the age group of 8-9 years. “While seven children are undergoing treatment at Narsipatnam area hospital, another 17 children were admitted to the government hospital at Anakapalli. Four of them are being shifted to King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam for better treatment,” Anakapalli district collector Vijaya Krishnan told reporters.
The incident happened at the hostel of the orphanage run by Aradhana Trust, a minority institution, where around 86 children, most of them being orphans and others with single parents, are staying.
Narsipatnam revenue divisional officer H Jayaram said these children were served biryani, samosa and chocolates on Saturday night after a prayer meeting. Some of them had apparently eaten stale biryani on Sunday morning as well.
“This is believed to have caused food poisoning. On Sunday evening, many students complained of vomiting and uneasiness. They were shifted to hospitals in Anakapalle and Narsipatnam, where three of them died in the morning,” Jayaram said.
The fourth girl, whose condition was critical, died while being shifted to KG Hospital in Visakhapatnam.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock over the incident and directed the district collector to see that the children undergoing treatment at various hospitals be provided with better treatment. He also asked the collector to submit a detailed report on the cause of the tragedy.
State home minister Vangalapudi said the government has instructed police and medical and health department officials to conduct a comprehensive probe to ascertain the exact reasons behind the incident.
YSR Congress party president and former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed deep sorrow and urged the authorities to provide the best medical facilities to the students currently receiving treatment and called for immediate support for the families of the deceased students.
He strongly criticised the negligence of the government, stating that this tragedy was a clear example of poor supervision and such incidents highlight the gaps in the existing monitoring systems.
Jagan asked the government to focus on improving the system and taking steps to prevent such incidents from happening again.
