44 Coimbatore corporation school students suffer suspected food poisoning

COIMBATORE: As many as 44 students suffered suspected food poisoning after having lunch at a Coimbatore corporation middle school in Kavundampalayam on Tuesday afternoon. It was alleged that a lizard had fallen into the food served to the students at the school.

Forty-four students, most of them Class IV students, experienced continuous vomiting after lunch. Some of them fainted. The 44 students include 30 boys and 14 girls. Forty-three students were rushed to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) while the parents had picked up one student. A team of five doctors provided treatment to the students in CMCH.

District collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar, corporation commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran and mayor R Ranganayaki visited the students in CMCH. The collector and the commissioner said the condition of all the students was safe. All the students were discharged on Tuesday night.

The commissioner said a special team had been formed to investigate the allegation that a lizard had fallen into the food. “A detailed inspection will be conducted in the canteen. Only after the investigation will it be known whether it was due to the staff's negligence. A circular will be sent to all schools in this regard," he added.

Earlier, after coming to know about the incident, parents gathered at the school entrance. They were allegedly denied entry into the school, following which they indulged in an argument with the school management and police.