24 dead in Pakistan after eating poisoned sweets: Officials

At least 23 people have died and dozens of others fell ill in central Pakistan after consuming sweets laced with pesticides.

Twenty-four people from a single family died in Pakistan after eating sweets that are suspected to have been laced with pesticide.

23 people have died and dozens of others fell ill in after eating after consuming sweets laced with pesticides. (Representational Image: Shutterstock)

Dozens more have been hospitalized after the family gathered to celebrate the naming ceremony of a grandson.

Umer Hayat bought five kilograms of laddus from a local bakery in Karor Lal Essan village in Layyah district of Punjab province to celebrate the occasion, but soon after consuming the sweets, family members started to fall ill.

Hayat is now in critical condition in a hospital, and six brothers, one sister and two children in his family have died.

Investigators say the shopkeeper’s servant has acknowledged that he accidentally mixed pesticide into the laddus.

The shop has been closed down, and the owners, two brothers, have been taken into custody, they said.

Officials suspect pesticide from a store next to the shop may have have found its way into the laddus. Five people now remain seriously ill in Nishtar hospital in Multan.

Most of the others who were being treated have recovered.