Around 80 students from a district council school in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district were hospitalized after consuming biscuits provided under a nutritional meal program, officials reported.
The incident occurred on Saturday morning at the school in Keket Jalgaon village, where students began experiencing symptoms of nausea and vomiting shortly after eating the biscuits around 8:30 a.m., according to a local official.
Upon learning of the situation, the village head and other authorities promptly arrived at the school and arranged for the affected students to be transported to a hospital.
The children were initially taken to a rural hospital, where medical staff described their condition as stable.
Dr. Babasaheb Ghughe, the medical officer at the hospital, shared, "On Saturday morning, around 8:30 a.m., after consuming the biscuits, 257 students exhibited symptoms of food poisoning. Of these, 153 were brought to the hospital, with some treated and sent home."
However, seven students who developed more severe symptoms were transferred to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Civil Hospital for further treatment, Dr. Ghughe added.
The school enrolls a total of 296 students. An investigation into the cause of the food poisoning is currently underway.