61 students hospitalized, 1 dead after food poisoning incident in UP's school

A 15-year-old school boy, who was among the several children hospitalized here two days ago after food poisoning, died in eastern Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur on Wednesday, officials said.

Around 80 students from the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Ashram School in Mehroona village had fallen ill with symptoms of stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea after eating the school meal, and were hospitalized on Aug 5.

Currently, 61 students are hospitalized in Deoria medical college, according to the officials.

District Magistrate Divya Mittal expressed deep sorrow over this incident.

"All the students admitted for treatment at Deoria Medical College are healthy and they will be discharged from today," Mittal said.

Ashram schools, which provide residential-based free education to meritorious students from financially weaker sections of society, are being run by the Social Welfare Department of the state. Currently, 94 such schools are functional in the state, according to an official website.

"A student receiving treatment at Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Gorakhpur has passed away this Wednesday morning. The deceased student, Shivam Yadav, son of Sadanand Yadav, aged 15, was a resident of Bhaisiya Ramnagar, Farenda Tehsil, Maharajganj district," Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Rajesh Jha said.

"Following the food poisoning incident on August 5, his condition deteriorated, and he was admitted to Maharshi Deoraha Baba Medical College, Deoria. Initially, his health was stable, but on the afternoon of August 6, his condition worsened with a sudden drop in blood pressure, leading to his admission to the ICU," Jha said.

He said despite efforts, there was no significant improvement in his health. Consequently, for better treatment, the medical college administration transferred him to BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur, on Tuesday evening around 4 pm using an advanced life-saving ambulance.

At the BRD Medical College, Shivam was placed on a ventilator for treatment, the CMO said.

"To ensure coordinated efforts for his treatment, the district administration sent Additional CMO Dr Surendra Chaudhary to BRD Medical College. Unfortunately, Shivam Yadav passed away on the morning of Wednesday, August 7," he added.

(PTI)