Posted on 03/13/2005 2:52:27 PM PST by HRJames
Pesticide mistaken for flour may have caused deadly poisoning: report 03/13 11:55:01 AM
MANILA (AFP) - Pesticide mistaken for flour may have been responsible for the deaths of 27 schoolchildren in Bohol last week, according to a report in newspapers on Sunday.
National Bureau of Investigation director Reynaldo Wycoco was quoted saying that a can of pesticide resembling a flour container was found in the house of a vendor suspected of selling cassava sweets to the victims, who died of food poisoning.
Twenty-seven children aged seven to 13 died and more than 100 others fell ill after eating the sweets sold at the gates of San Jose Elementary School in Mabini, Bohol.
"Right now, we're ruling out Racumin (a brand of rat poison) and hydrocyanide poison as the likely cause of death because there was no internal bleeding," Wycoco said.
"We're eyeing pesticide because the team we sent to Bohol found a can of pesticide which resembles that of the flour used to prepare the fried cassava."
NBI experts in Bohol were hopeful they would be able to determine what caused the deaths by Monday or Tuesday.
One of the problems facing investigators has been the refusal of parents to allow autopsies to be carried out on the dead.
But the family of a seven-year-old who died, Sherwin Asas, on Saturday agreed to have the boy's body exhumed for an autopsy.
"Most of the family members refused to allow any autopsy because of their mistaken belief that the body would be cut into pieces," investigators said.
At first it was thought the children were the victims of cyanide, which occurs naturally in cassava if it is not prepared correctly, or rat poisoning.
Cassava or manioc is a tropical food crop widely grown around the Asian region. In many impoverished towns, like Mabini, it is a substitute for rice.
Speechless
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