Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, November 14, 2003
Food poisoning in elementary school kills one girl, sickens 21
A food poisoning left one girl dead and 21 other elementary school students ill Tuesday night in the northwestern part of central Hubei province, according to sources from the local government.
A food poisoning left one girl dead and 21 other elementary school students ill Tuesday night in the northwestern part of central Hubei province, according to sources from the local government.
A total of 22 students fell ill Tuesday night after they had their supper in the dining hall of the Nigou Central Elementary School in Jingyang town, Yunxi county in the northwest of Hubei.
The fifth and sixth graders of the school were boarders, and 126 fifth and sixth graders had supper in the school's dining hall, according to local officials.
The school immediately sent the poisoned students to a local hospital. He Yinying, a fifth grade girl, died Wednesday morning of respiratory failure. According to the school authority, the girl was very weak due to diarrhea and stomach trouble before the poisoning.
The government said the cause of the poisoning was likely moldy corn in the food, and authorities were investigating further.
As of Thursday, 19 students had recovered on the whole, and two in critical condition had been transferred to the Yunxi County Hospital, said the officials.