A total of 105 primary school pupils in a Priority Education Zone (PEZ) in the West of the Mauritius island were victims of food poisoning on Thursday.

Among them 25 who were considered in very serious condition, were still admitted at a regional hospital.

An official at the Bambous governmental school said that the children were taken ill after their lunch. They had consumed rice accompanied with dry grains (dhal), a local salad known as chouchou and eggs.

The children then started vomiting and complained of stomach pains. Among them 96 were transported to Victoria hospital in the Central region of the island while 9 of them were rushed to Jeetoo hospital in the capital, Port-Louis, for proper medication.

An official at the Victoria hospital said that the children were out of danger. "Everything is under control and their health status is stable," the official said when he spoke on a local radio station.

However, the parents who rushed to Victoria hospital were not surprised. A mother to one of the children said a day earlier, she had alerted the authorities, through a private radio station, about the poor quality of food that is served at Bambous school.

Mauritius Education Minister Vasant Bunwaree affirmed, through a press statement, that everything was under control and there was no need to panic.

He said an investigation had been launched to shed more light on the food poisoning incident. Endi

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