7 more children take ill after having mid-day meal at Thane school; 45 hospitalised so far

Thane: Seven more children have fallen sick due to suspected food poisoning after consuming mid-day meal at a private school near Maharashtra's Thane city, taking the total number of minors hospitalised to 45, officials said on Wednesday.

The children, aged between 8 and 11 years, were admitted to a civic hospital in Kalwa town after they complained of giddiness, nausea, headache and pain in the abdomen after lunch on Tuesday, according to medical officials at the hospital.

Initially, 38 students were hospitalised on Tuesday. Seven more children were admitted to the facility late night.

The children were being monitored and if found fit, they would be discharged by Wednesday afternoon, the hospital's medical in-charge, Dr Aniruddha Malgaonkar, told PTI.

All the children were out of danger and responding to the medical treatment, Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) Additional Commissioner Sandeep Malvi said on Tuesday.

He confirmed that the children had eaten a mid-day meal at the private school.

Another medical official said the students were served rice and moth bean (matki) curry as the meal.

Samples of food served to students have been collected by FDA officials.

According to officials, initially, five students complained of uneasiness and their number swelled gradually.

"Ambulances were summoned by the school administration and the students were rushed to the hospital," they added.

The parents of the children were also present at the hospital.