At least 110 students from the Indian state of Bihar, located in the east of the country, were transported to the hospital after being served food from a plate with a dead snake on it, The Independent website reported on Monday, quoted by Agerpres .
The body of the reptile was seen on a plate that had been used to serve lunch to students at a government school in Araria district.
The students were rushed to a local hospital after some started vomiting and said they didn’t feel well. It was reported that some of the students lost consciousness.
According to district magistrate Inayat Khan, a snake of about 20 centimeters was discovered in the food offered at the school.
“So far, the food had been distributed to 18 students, while another 98 were in the queue,” she told The Telegraph.
All the hospitalized students were discharged by Sunday morning.
The food was prepared by a non-profit organization that had been hired to provide lunch to several public schools.
“A team of officials inspected the centralized kitchen managed by CNDI (non-profit organization) and the cooking process followed there. Action will be taken against it if any deviation is found in the report. The dead snake was sent to a forensic medicine laboratory to determine the species and whether it was poisonous,” said the district magistrate.
The authorities have initiated an investigation and will take “strict measures” against those found guilty.
It is not the first time, however, that students from Indian schools end up in the hospital after consuming spoiled or poor quality food served at the meal provided by the school.
Last Friday, at least 35 students in the state of West Bengal became ill after eating a lunch in which a lizard was found.
The students were transported to a local hospital after complaining of severe stomach pains and vomiting.
Later, a dead lizard was discovered floating in one of the containers used to store and serve the meal.
Editor: Bianca Chirilă
