Mumbai couple, 2 daughters die after meal: Did eating watermelon lead to deaths? Probe on

The couple and their children were first rushed to a private hospital after they began experiencing vomiting and giddiness.

A couple and their two minor daughters died after a meal at a family get-together at their home in south Mumbai, police said on Monday. The family had consumed watermelon after dinner, with food poisoning suspected to be the cause of their deaths.

According to experts, a watermelon can, in rare cases, cause food poisoning. (AFP)

The deceased included Abdullah (40), his wife Nasrin (35), and daughters Zainab (13) and Ayesha (16).

The couple and their children were first rushed to a private hospital after they began experiencing vomiting and giddiness, news agency PTI reported.

However, their condition worsened, following which they were shifted to JJ Hospital, where they succumbed on Sunday. Abdullah was the last to die around 10.30 pm on Sunday.

Did fruit turn fatal?

According to an official, Abdullah and Nasrin had organised a small get-together on April 25 (Saturday) at their JJ Marg residence. The family, along with five other guests, had ‘chicken pilav’ (‘pulao/pulav’) as a main course for dinner.

After the guests left, the four consumed watermelon, and soon after began experiencing vomiting and giddiness, PTI cited the official as saying. The official further stated that prima facie, the case appears to be that of food poisoning from the watermelon, given that those who only ate the ‘pilav’ had not faced any health concerns.

While a post-mortem of the four has been conducted, a histopathology report is awaited to confirm the cause.

A case of accidental death has been registered, and further probe into the incident is underway, the official stated.

Dr Ziad Qureshi, who initially examined the family, told NDTV that the four people were in a very bad state and appeared exhausted.

“They had severe vomiting and diarrhoea. When I rushed them to the hospital, they informed me that they had eaten watermelon,” he said.

Meanwhile, the half-eaten piece of watermelon had been sent for laboratory testing. “Samples collected from the bodies during the post-mortem have been collected for further investigation,” Pravin Munde, deputy commissioner of police, told NDTV.

What do experts say?

According to experts, a watermelon can, in rare cases, cause food poisoning and lead to health complications. The fruit's high water and natural sugar content make it an environment where bacteria can multiply quickly if contamination occurs, NDTV reported citing a consultant nutritionist.

Apart from this, there have been reports of the fruit being injected with glucose water or sugar water to increase sweetness or to enhance its appearance.