A school in Sichuan Province was the site of a food poisoning outbreak which left 45 pupils in hospital, local authorities said on Sunday.

The pupils in hospital are from Grade One and Grade Six in the Chongzhou City Experimental Primary School, said the authorities.

Authorities revealed that the pupils, all from Grades One and Six at Chongzhou City's Experimental Primary School, had shown symptoms including headaches, stomach aches, fever, vomiting and drowsiness since Saturday and had been diagnosed with food poisoning.

The pupils had lunch in school on Friday but developed symptoms of food poisoning over the course of the weekend.

The cause of the food poisoning is being investigated.

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2006)